Home
by Calliope221
Summary: "Thorin had determined long ago that caring for his people mattered more to him than anything else ever could. However, fate caught him out for a walk one warm summer afternoon, and she decided to teach Thorin Oakenshield a lesson in love."
1. The Beginning

**Hey guys new story :) I've been sitting on this one for a while and have a lot of it done, but I just know myself and I have a tendency to take long breaks from stories... I'm hoping putting this up will keep me motivated. It starts out a little slow mostly with character background and such, but it'll get more interesting, promise :) Please let me know what you think! I'm always down for ideas and suggestions!**

"Curse this damned rain!" Elle swore as she sprinted towards sanctuary under a small grove of trees. Once she was under the shelter of the leaves, she wiped the water out of her eyes, and shook as much as she could from her cloak and small traveling packs. Her journey to Hobbiton had been a damp one, and she was happy for a moments respite from the torrential downpour. As she adjusted her hood, she looked out over the plains of rolling grass towards the glowing lights of the small hobbit holes only just visible in the dimming light of the evening heavens. Noting the hue of the sky, Elle was certain the clouds were dumping the last of their load over the plains of the Shire. She settled down in the dry grass under the tree to wait the rain out. Gandalf had mentioned the meeting would be a large one; it would be best to rest up first before dealing with many new faces. Before closing her eyes, Elle took one last longing look at the town in front of her, and noted with a small pang of jealousy that it would indeed be a fine place to call home.

OOOOO

Home had once held important meaning to Elle. From a young age, she'd learned that home was where the importance of family, simple comforts, and good food reigned over all else. Unlike many young girls, Elle grew up knowing that home meant love. Home meant safety from the dangers of the world. Home provided shelter from the disdainful eyes of those who did not understand Elle's family.

Elle's family was very unlike other families, for Elle's parent's union was based on love, not conventionalities. It was a love that had blossomed and continued to grow stronger since the moment dwarf and elf had met. Elle's mother, Adlanniel, was a famous elven warrior of Rivendell, who had led many battles against countless enemies. Elle's father, Bain, was a dwarven weapon-smith from Erebor, who's swords, axes, and hammers had once been the prize of all who had the fortune to own them. One fateful night, however, he fell in love with the visiting elleth, Adlanniel, and his fame and affluence had been taken from him in the blink of an eye. He was cast out by his people, and followed his lover back to her home in Rivendell. Unlike the dwarves, the elves were forgiving towards the couple. They were wise in the ways of love, and understood its irrational nature. Surrounded by the valley of Imladris, they were bonded forever in T. A. 2769. In the end, however, Bain and Adlanniel knew they could not stay in the elven city, so they traveled to the land just south of the North Downs. There they built a home where they could raise a child without being bothered or ridiculed by outsiders.

Elle was born in T.A. 2772, a year or two after the couple had settled. She was a beautiful baby girl with the dark, curly brown hair of her father, but the gentile facial features of her mother. As she grew, her elven features began to become more prominent, a fact which her father did not begrudge at all. He was glad to see the grace and beauty of his wife shine through in his daughter as well. The few signs of dwarfishness in her were the dusting of freckles on her face, her long curly hair, the layer of soft hair covering her arms, her shorter stature, and blunt ears. As she grew older, Elle longed for more company. Luckily, Bain and Adlanniel were well known amongst the Rangers of the North, who stopped by to deliver news and any goods the couple might desire in exchange for a hot meal and a bed for the night. They played with Elle as she grew, and taught her the ways of the land. Once, even, a wizard calling himself Gandalf the Grey showed up at the house in the late hours of the night. Despite the unexpected nature of the visit, Elle's parents treated him with the greatest respect, and he returned several times to check in on the family. He took a particular interest in Elle, and told her incredible tales about his travels. In his visits and the visits of the Rangers, Elle found some company at least, and so she was happy.

Anything Elle could ever want for was provided for her, yet she was not a spoiled child. Her parents showed her constant care, but she was independent from the beginning. At an early age, her father showed her the art of weapon-crafting, while her mother taught her to use the weapons fashioned in Bain's self-made forge behind their cottage. Before she could even lift a sword, Elle showed skill with a bow and arrow. Once she grew bigger, her mother introduced her to larger weapons. Perhaps it was the combination of both her parent's love for weaponry, or simply natural talent, but Elle took to every blade her father could create. At age 24 – a very young age for both dwarves and elves - it already looked like Elle would one day surpass her mother in ability. She had been blessed with the lightness and agility of an elf, along with the strength of a dwarf. Realizing this, Bain took it upon himself to create a weapon for his daughter that would suite her strengths. For her 25th birthday, Elle was given a double ended staff; one end held a long, deadly blade modeled after those of the elves, and the other end sported a spiked hammer modeled after the devastating weapons of the dwarves. It was not unwieldy, however, since Bain had taken special care to keep the staff balanced. This weapon suited Elle perfectly and it took her only a year to fully master it.

As the years went on, hunting became Elle's primary responsibility, and she found that both her arrows and her staff were suited to the task. The further from home she ventured, the larger the prey became, and it was useful to have her hammer and blade in case her arrows were not sufficient. In addition to hunting, she would often take trips with the Rangers of the North to make sure all was right with the land and its people.

One fateful night, not many weeks after Elle's 47th birthday, Elle returned from a particularly long trip to find her home in shambles, and her parents nowhere to be found. Calling frantically, Elle heard a noise in her father's forge. To her horror, she found Bain curled up in the corner with a gigantic wound across his face and chest. Surrounding him were the bodies of several Orcs and two giant wolf-like creatures Elle recognized as Wargs. Her father was barely conscious, but, as Elle held him to her chest, she learned that a band of three Orcs riding upon vicious Wargs had attacked the house without warning. They had killed her mother as she tried to fend them off, and one beast had run off with her body. The rest had chased her father into the forge, and it was a Warg's fang that had dealt Bain his fatal wound, but not before he was able to defeat all who threatened his family. As her father drew his final breath, Elle heard a noise outside the doorway to the forge. She turned to see the last of the hideous beasts slinking back to find the rest of his company. Elle realized this was the beast who had taken her mother, and a hot rage boiled in her chest. She screamed and rushed the Warg, smashing it's skull with her hammer, and spinning to slice its throat. The death of the Warg didn't stop her, however, and, along with her burning tears, Elle's hammer fell down upon the fallen beast again and again, destroying it completely. Elle learned that day exactly what she and the other terrible creatures of the world were capable of, and how exactly she was going to use her strength. She set out then with little more than her staff, her bow, and several of her father's throwing axes, to avenge her parents by using her strengths against the evil creatures bent on destroying that which was good. However, no matter how many villages she saved, no matter how much good she did, she would never forget how helpless she had felt that day as she smashed the body of the Warg. Nothing she'd done that day or the years following had made any difference. Her parents were still gone, and she was still an unwanted outcast without a real place to call home. It was an ache that haunted Elle, even in sleep…

Waking with a start, Elle shook her head free of painful dreams and noticed that the sky was dark and the rain had stopped. It was time she was off. Standing up, she brushed the grass off her leather breaches and set off across the field.


	2. Reunited

Following Gandalf's very specific instructions, Elle reached the home of Mr. Baggins without any trouble, and gave a firm knock on the door before her nerves got the best of her. Stamping from one booted foot to the other, Elle waited for the entrance to open. Her brow knitted in concern as she heard someone yell something about too many dwarves, and she started to think better of coming. Gandalf hadn't mentioned other dwarves. They were the race most likely to give her trouble. Just as she turned to go, however, the door swung open, and before her stood the strangest little man Elle had ever laid eyes on.

"So you are a hobbit…" She murmured with a small smile. "Elle, at your service."

"Yes, yes, and Bilbo Baggins at yours," her host muttered irritably as she followed him into the hallway. She paused, however, when he continued on down the hall and to the back of the house where loud voices were coming from. Elle had just begun to debate whether or not to keep her hood on, when a familiar face came barreling around the corner to see who was at the door.

"Kili!?" Elle exclaimed half in delight, half in relief. She had not expected to know any of the company, let alone be reunited with one of her dearest friends.

"Elle!" Kili threw himself at her and wrapped her in a bone crushing embrace. When he was done squeezing the life out of her, he held her back at arm's length as she shed her cloak, revealing her mass of curls, and travel worn face. "Durin's beard, it really IS you! I could hardly see your face through all that dirt! Such is not proper for a lady!" Elle gave him a quick punch in response, and Kili yelped playfully. Not one to be left out of what sounded like fun, Fili poked his head around the corner to see what his brother was up to.

"Kili, don't hog our guest! There's plenty to do before…" He trailed off as he saw who the guest was, and his expression changed to one of shock and delight. "Well eat my boots and blunt my axe! It sure is nice to see such a pretty face among all these horrid oafs!" Kili, still grinning, gave his older brother a jab as he strode over to embrace his long-lost friend.

"From that horridly ancient expression, it sounds like you are soon to be one of them!" Elle exclaimed, and Kili laughed heartily.

As she drank in her happy reunion with two of the only dwarves she could truly call friends, Elle could hardly hold back her tears of surprised happiness. Seeing the expression on her face as he held her out in front of him, Fili smiled at her in a way that warmed her from the inside out. There was no more need to worry; she had friends here.

Elle put up her cloak and weapons, and she and Fili followed Kili down the hall. "It's been a long time, Elle." Fili said quietly, "Kili and I… We were sure we'd never see you again."

Elle stopped with a hand on his arm, and he turned to look at her with a sad smile. It made her feel incredibly guilty. "Fili… I'm so sorry I never sent word…" She began her long rehearsed apology, but they were both suddenly distracted by a heap of dwarves falling through the doorway of the hobbit hole. Elle felt the familiar anxiety start to grow in the pit of her stomach, but was comforted by her friend's hand coming to rest on her shoulder. They stood together silently as the group of dwarves picked themselves up and bustled off in a different direction. Once they'd gone, Fili caught her eye and grinned reassuringly.

"It's alright Elle, I understand. Kili and I, we tried to help when you were with us, but we understood you had to go. There were people… namely…" he paused to look at the ground, and Elle knew whom he was referring to, "well, we knew you were going to be alright. That staff of yours is a mighty weapon." He looked up at her again and squeezed her shoulder with a smile. "I'm glad you've been asked to come, we could use a fighter like you in our ranks. I know the dwarves who are coming with us. They have good hearts, and they've seen many types of pain. They will recognize yours and treat you the better for it. Some may take longer to come around…" he paused then as if debating whether to mention something. He seemed to change his mind, however, and continued on "…but in the end they will all respect a good, loyal fighter. Besides, with all that hair and dirt on your face, you look every bit a dwarf. Just promise me, if any one of them gives you a hard time, you knock them flat on their fat arse."

Elle laughed heartily at that, "It will be my pleasure." Fili grinned and clapped her shoulder once more before heading into the dining room. Squaring her shoulders, Elle followed him, her heart considerably less heavy than it had been a few minutes earlier.

As she entered the dining room, Elle saw several members of the company turn towards her, and she smiled. "Bless my beard, are we to be privileged with the company of this be-YOUtiful lady on our adventure as well, Gandalf?" An old dwarf with an impressive red beard sang out as another grey haired dwarf quickly produced a chair for Elle with a small bow.

"I suppose so!" Elle replied cheerfully over the din of the hungry dwarves. She nudged Kili over, and slid her chair in between him and his brother. As she sat down, her attention was drawn to the incredible feast laid out before her. "What did you lads do, clean the poor hobbit out?"

"Nearly," Kili replied grabbing at a plate of sausages, "we left him his old moldy cheese!" This comment got a roar of approval from those close enough to hear it, and tankards crashed together, splashing foam high into the air.

"Cheers lads! Cheers to adventure!" Another roar followed this statement, and Elle saw Gandalf smiling at her from the opposite end of the table. Elle laughed heartily as she was passed a plate and a tankard full of what she guessed was some sort of ale. Whatever it was, it helped reinforce the blanket of comfort she was warily allowing to settle over her.

As everyone settled down to enjoy their meal, Elle's plate quickly filled with food, half of which was flung at her from across the table. After receiving a second chunk of cheese to the face, Elle good-naturedly tossed the food back at its owner, hitting the dwarf straight in the nose. This received an even louder cheer than the ones before.

"Well played, lassie!" cried the dwarf who'd been hit. He slid his chair back to stand up, and everyone turned to look at him.

"I, my fairest of ladies, am Bofur, at your service." Whipping off his funny hat with a flourish, he bowed low over his plate, nearly tipping over in the process. This earned a hoot of laughter from the company. The next dwarf stood up as Bofur fell backwards into his chair with a cheeky wink in Elle's direction.

This dwarf simply grunted loudly before plopping back in his chair. Elle caught Bofur's eye, and he twirled his finger by his ear as if to tell her the other dwarf was not all there. Elle chuckled and took note of the large axe embedded in the poor dwarf's forehead. No wonder.

To Elle's amusement and delight, this introduction process continued around the table. In addition to Bofur and the dwarf she later found out was named Bifur, there was Balin and Dwalin, two names that sounded vaguely familiar; Oin and Gloin; Kili and Fili of course; a very wide dwarf named Bombur; and three others named Ori, Nori, and Dori. As she tried to commit all of these names to memory, Elle suddenly realized the room had gone strangely quiet.

"Your turn," Kili said with a mischievous grin, and nudged her to her feet. Seeing only expectant faces as she looked around at the others, Elle cleared her throat and introduced herself to the company.

"Elle, at your service." She added a smile and a small bow to accompany this statement, and fell back into her seat.

"And where do you hail from, Elle?" The surly dwarf named Dwalin asked her, leaning forwards in his chair. Mumbling something incoherent, Elle's brain worked quickly as she tried to figure out where she might have crossed paths with the menacing dwarf before.

"So interested already! Cheeky bastard!" Fili shouted suddenly as he stood to fill his tankard. He proceeded to deliver ale around the table. The dwarves were quickly distracted from the question as they howled with mirth at Dwalin's expense. Elle was thankful for both the distraction and the ale. But why did Dwalin and Balin seem so familiar?

Suddenly, she remembered. Balin had been there when she'd met Fili and Kili. She had been trying to assimilate quietly into the dwarf colony in the Blue Mountains, but her heritage had been discovered by their king, Fili and Kili's uncle Thorin Oakenshield. So, both Balin and Dwalin knew who she was.

Elle glanced at Fili as he sat back down, but he didn't look at her. She took that as a sign to leave it alone for now, and, as Kili shouted the command "TANK UP!" she downed her ale with the rest of them. Letting out a belch to rival even Ori's impressive performance, Elle cheered along with her companions as they quickly filled the tankards once more. As the draught rose to her head, Elle let the celebratory nature of the gathering wash over her, and her fears of what Balin or Dwalin might tell the others about her quickly faded.

"Let them say what they want," Elle thought to herself as she helped the others in their ridiculous – yet effective – dish-washing antics. A bowl sailed toward her head and she quickly knocked it to Fili, who set it flying to Bifur at the sink. She laughed, and joined in as the merry companions began to sing. These dwarves would not be so quick to dismiss her, she could tell. None of them, save Dwalin, had that overly righteous air about them. The big dwarf could make all the fuss he wanted, but, surprisingly, it didn't seem likely that he would garner much support. And yet, despite these comforting thoughts, the old nagging feeling of doubt kept wriggling in the pit of Elle's stomach.

As the dwarves cheered the end of their song, there came three loud knocks on the front door, and all grew quiet. "He's here." Gandalf stated ominously. Elle couldn't say exactly why, but as Bilbo went to answer the door, she quietly snuck to the back of the crowd where Bofur and Fili were standing. The older dwarf was polishing off his tankard, and gave a quiet burp in greeting. Elle laughed and went to stand by him.

"Is there to be another member of our company?" She asked as the door creaked open.

"Indeed there is, lass! Our fearless leader himself, Mr. Thorin Oakenshield!" The kind dwarf turned and frowned, "Elle? What's the matter?"

As soon as the stranger's outline had become clear in the doorway, Elle had jumped quickly behind the edge of the archway into the front hall, and flattened her back to the wall. She inhaled deeply to slow her heart, which was nearly beating out of her chest.

"Of all the bloody surprises…." She swore quietly. Looking up, she realized Bofur was looking at her curiously, "Thorin Oakenshield and I… we don't get on." She said quietly, hearing the others talking about Bilbo in the front hall. He nodded with a teasing wink and a "Less competition for me then!", then turned to watch the introductions taking place between Gandalf, Bilbo, and the king. Inhaling quickly, she peeked around the archway. Thorin, looking as haughty as ever, was circling the obviously confused hobbit in his typical pompous manner.

"Some things don't change, I guess." Elle thought to herself with a sigh. This night had definitely taken a turn for the worse. She couldn't believe that neither Gandalf, Fili, nor Kili had mentioned her Thorin was to be part – well, leader obviously – of this company. As she quickly gathered herself together, Elle chastised herself for not realizing it earlier. Of course, knowing wouldn't have prevented her from coming. Indeed, it might have made her desire to participate in the journey all that much stronger, since the adventure would give her a chance to prove to the infuriating dwarf just how wrong he'd been about her. However, a warning would have saved her a mighty fright. Steeling herself for the worst, Elle took one last deep breath and slowly came out from behind the doorway.

As Elle turned the corner, Thorin's attention was still occupied by the hobbit, so she quietly squeezed by Bofur to stand next to Fili. She didn't understand why he hadn't told her about his uncle being a part of the gathering. Whatever his reasons, however, she knew the young dwarf and his brother were still her friends. Startled by her sudden appearance, Fili looked up at Elle and, noticing the worried look she gave him, quietly took her hand and gave it a solid squeeze.

"He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." Thorin murmured in reference to the hobbit standing before him, and the crowd around him chuckled in agreement. Elle felt sorry for the little man. Unfortunately, she didn't have more than a few moments of thought to spare for the hobbit before the stony blue eyes of Thorin met hers with a startled spark of recognition. His nostrils flared, and he swelled up so fast Elle thought he might burst. The movement was effective, however, and he appeared quite formidable as he advanced on Elle.

"Another one of your… surprises, Gandalf?" Thorin scoffed standing directly in front of Elle, a situation that only made her heart race faster. His eyes left her face only once as they flicked down to where Fili's hand was still squeezing hers. When he looked back up, his scowl had deepened. "I did not ask you to find a fifteenth member for our company… This is dwarf business, and dwarf business alone." Elle felt the eyes of everyone on her, but she could not look away from the man standing in front of her. He was only an inch taller than her at most, but the way he looked at her made her feel like the lowliest insect in all of Middle Earth. Never one to back down from a challenge, however, Elle buried her unhappiness and stared down her challenger. Her stomach felt as if it was full of butterflies, but she repressed her urge to look away. After a long moment, Thorin narrowed his eyes and spoke one last time before turning to walk into the dining room. "We will not require assistance from your mixed-blooded friend, Gandalf."

Elle turned to Fili, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Kili was beside them in a second, and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That could have gone worse!" He said with a small smile, and Elle laughed.

"Yes indeed. However, I don't know if I have ever felt more in need of fresh air. Forgive me for not joining you all in your discussion, but I think I'm going for a walk."

"FILI! KILI!" A commanding voice echoed down the hall, and the brothers winced.

"Better go see what uncle wants…" Fili sighed.

"We'll see you later." Kili said giving Elle a quick hug. "It's great to see you…" He trailed off, flashing her one of his charming smiles, and jogged after his brother.

"Off so soon?" A voice spoke to Elle out of the shadows as soon as the brothers were gone.

"Gandalf!" Elle whispered sharply, receiving her third shock of the night, "Valar, I didn't see you there."

"I think it's safe to assume you weren't going to tell me you're not planning on joining us for our meeting?" The wizard looked down at Elle with a stern, but kind glare, and Elle couldn't help but smile.

"No, I wasn't. But I'm not leaving. I just don't think it would be wise to cause any further trouble tonight. Besides, thanks to some people I was wholly unprepared for THAT surprise." She muttered throwing her cloak over her fur-lined coat.

"Would it have helped knowing Thorin was a part of the plan?"

"No… no I don't suppose it would have." Elle sighed, "I just hate to think… I was beginning to feel as if I was among friends here, but I know he will persuade them to distrust me."

"Despite how he treats you, you are not foremost on his mind, nor are you a subject he will bring up to his company. I mean that in the best way possible, of course." Gandalf added noticing Elle's hurt expression, "You belong here, my dear girl. Thorin will warm to you in time. And if he does not, he will at least learn to live with you. Thorin is as stubborn as dwarves come, but he is not unreasonable, and he is not intentionally cruel. He has his reasons to distrust, as you know. You, Elle, simply need to show him his reasons are wrong." Elle snorted, and the wizard straightened slightly, "I did not say it would be easy, but if anyone is going to show Thorin Oakenshield the error of his ways, it will be you."

Thinking on Gandalf's words, and wondering if he knew more than she'd thought about her and Thorin's rocky past, Elle bid him goodnight and walked out into the moonlit darkness. Before closing the door behind her, Elle turned to her friend. "How can you always sound so certain?"

The wizard didn't say anything in response, he simply chuckled, and winked at Elle before turning to join the company in the dining room. Elle sighed, and closed the door. The night air was warm for such a wet spring, and Elle found herself throwing back her hood to drink in the earthy smells of the hobbit village. Ignoring her urge to dwell on sour thoughts, Elle reflected instead on how happy she was to finally have reunited with her two greatest friends.


	3. The History

When she'd first set out from where her home had once been, Elle headed straight for Rivendell, knowing she could find shelter with that side of her kin. The life of the elves, however, was too mundane for Elle, and she never felt truly at home there. She'd made superficial friends, and everyone was pleasant to talk to, but no one shared the same desires or motivations as Elle. Eventually, against the advice of Elrond, leader of the elves of Rivendell, she'd set out to find her other kin: the dwarves. She'd come upon several colonies as she traveled, but they were all nomads living in extreme poverty with no way to support another hungry mouth. Typically, the suspicious nature of the older dwarves meant it took a while for them to warm to the presence of an elf-kin, but once they got to know her they quickly grew to trust her. For nearly three decades Elle did what she could for these colonies, and they were grateful.

Once Elle had finally found her way to the Blue mountains where the largest existing colony of her father's relatives were now living, she had learned how to blend in with the other dwarves. Her curly mane and sooty face gave the illusion of facial hair that wasn't there, and that made it easy for her to establish herself as a prominent weapon-smith in the city. Of course, her disguise wasn't much use if one was to actually get close to her, and so she found it hard to make friends. Fili and Kili were the first dwarves Elle really bonded with. They'd come down to her smithy to meet the dwarf who made such beautiful weaponry, and were surprised to find not a dwarf, but an elf-kin. The brothers, generally less prejudiced or suspicious than most, had found Elle fascinating, and demanded she teach them everything she could about her weapons and skills in the forest. Elle, Fili, and Kili had quickly bonded over their love of adventure and a good laugh. Fili, the oldest of the brothers, was younger than Elle, but she was still the young at heart, and they got along extremely well from the start. She, in turn for her knowledge, had been treated to nearly thirty years of life as a dwarf, learning everything there was to know of their way of life. Her friendship with the two members of the royal line improved the other's opinions of her, and she was accepted into the community. Fili and Kili, along with some of the elder dwarves, had told her all the old stories about the dwarf kingdom of Erebor, it's treasures, and how Fili's uncle was heir to this throne under the mountain. All of these tales and adventures thrilled Elle like no tales she'd heard from the elves. This was the life she had been searching for, and she was happy. She'd found a place to belong.

Five years before Elle left the Blue Mountains, she'd crossed paths with Thorin Oakenshield, and, at first, her life took a change for the better. Elle had always been intrigued by the new king and the power he exuded. He was a hard worker, a loyal leader, and a fearless warrior, all qualities Elle admired. It also helped that he was probably the most beautiful dwarf she'd ever set eyes on. The first time they actually met was a day Elle would never forget. Thorin was walking through her part of the city one afternoon as she was hard at work. Just as he passed by her forge, she glanced up, and saw him watching her. The king stopped suddenly, and, to her great surprise, walked carefully into her dim workshop.

Elle and Thorin talked for a quite a while about the art of weapon crafting and other casual topics. Conversation was slow at first, and there were many long pauses where neither said anything at all, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. Elle felt strangely at ease around the formidable dwarf. She could tell this was a new situation for him, and she found his hesitation incredibly endearing. Eventually, as the shadows outside the shop grew long, the king apologized for taking her from her work, and left. Before he'd gone, however, he'd asked Elle quite gruffly if it would be alright for him to come back to see her the next day.

Elle saw Thorin at least once a day for the next few weeks, and each time he stayed until the sun went down. They didn't always talk; sometimes Thorin – better with his hands than with his words – would ask Elle to give him something to do, and he would help her. Other times he simply seemed content to watch her. As the days wore on, their talks became more intimate as their feelings for each other became clear. However, one morning as Elle caught sight of her reflection in her mirror, she realized how thoroughly – and unwittingly – she'd been deceiving the king. So used to hiding herself from other's, Elle had completely forgot that she really might look like a she-dwarf to someone who wasn't looking for something different. Thorin had no idea who she really was. It was so dark in her workshop, and her hair and face were so wild looking that she could barely even recognize herself behind her disguise. Ashamed of her cowardice, Elle braided her hair and washed her face clean, determined to tell Thorin her secret that very day. The others had come to accept her; surely Thorin would be able to see past her differences as well.

When Thorin first walked into her smithy that day, he looked at her in confusion. As she told him the full tale of her parent's, his gentle blue eyes grew stormy, and he rose up to his full height. His rage filled the space around him, and Elle looked down in shame as he judged her. Dwarves don't fall in love often, but when they do their love is strong and long lasting. Elle knew that she had already fallen in love with Thorin, but she wasn't certain if he had also developed such strong feelings for her. His anger, however, showed Elle just how much she'd come to mean to him; the guilt she felt for tricking him was overwhelming. As much as it hurt, she understood why he blamed her for betraying his trust. She understood why he stormed off in anger, nursing his wounded pride. What she didn't understand, however, was why he never came back.

As days turned to weeks and Thorin still hadn't come to see her, the ache in Elle's heart grew nearly too terrible to bear. The agony grew even worse when she found out the strange new rumors circulating about her had been started by the king himself. The discovery of this fact made the gossip that much more believable to Elle's neighbors, and distrust spread like wildfire. Many of the neighbors Elle had thought of as friends began to treat her as an outsider. She was shunned until she could barely trade for basic necessities at the market. Fili and Kili helped her as much as they could, but the derision soon became too humiliating to bear, and she left. She couldn't figure out how to tell her friends about her decision, and the guilt she'd felt after leaving the brothers without a word had been a difficult burden. Never in their many years apart had she ever expected to see her dear friends again, but now here they were! And it was starting to look like they would be spending an unforeseeable amount of time together from now on. It was a situation Elle was happy to be placed in, despite Thorin's harsh words and withering gaze.

Elle didn't blame Thorin for being angry. She'd learned to accept herself over the years, and that helped heal her wounded heart. Yes, she still loved him – it was a curse she'd have to battle for the rest of her days – but she no longer wholly blamed herself for what had happened between them. His actions against her were wrong, and she hadn't deserved that kind of treatment. She was proud of both her parents, and no one would ever change that. Besides, if he been able to hate her that quickly, his feelings for her were obviously not as strong as she'd once hoped. In the end, Gandalf was right. She did belong here. She deserved a chance to be accepted for exactly who she was, and she would do her best to make that clear to Thorin as well.

Relishing the warm excitement of adventure that was beginning to settle her nerves and steel her resolve, Elle walked back up the path towards Bilbo Baggins' home.


	4. Drifting Off

By the time she re-entered the hobbit hole, the atmosphere had changed to a much more somber one. Fili and Kili were just passing the front door as she returned; they nodded for her to follow them. Shedding her cloak and placing it back with her staff, Elle did as she was bid. As she drew closer to the sitting room, the low hum of voices rose in unison. Fili stopped by the doorway to smoke his pipe by the fire. Thorin stood on the opposite side of the hearth, but his eyes were directed at the flames. He seemed deep in thought, and Elle entered the room unnoticed. Suddenly, and quite beautifully, Throin's deep voice rose above the others as he sang the song of the lonely mountain. She realized then what the nature of the quest was going to be. They were going to reclaim Erebor.

_Far over the Misty Mountain's cold_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old_

_We must away at break of day_

_To find our long forgotten gold_

Elle shivered as Thorin's icy gaze lingered on her for a moment as he looked up from the fire. His eyes eventually moved past her to watch as the rest of the dwarves got up to join him around the fire. Elle's heart soared as their deep voices joined together:

_The pines were roaring on the height_

_The winds were moaning in the night_

_The fire was red it flaming spread_

_The trees like torches blazed with light_

Once the dwarves finished their song, everyone settled down for a short night's rest. Elle, Fili, and Kili all claimed spots around the fire. Elle listened as her friend's breathing became slower and steadier, but she herself could not find peace enough to sleep. She'd allowed herself to think back on her feelings for Thorin when she had gone for a walk, but the door to those memories, once opened, was much harder to shut than she'd imagined. She tossed and turned, resisting the urge to go in search of him. She could not, however, stop her elven ears from searching out his deep, soothing voice. After a long while, she finally caught a hint of his deep breathing coming from the direction of the kitchen, and the soft sound soon lulled her to sleep.

OOOOO

After bidding his friends goodnight, Thorin stood in the hallway by himself for a minute or two lost in thought. All the others had gone off in search of sleep, but he knew he would find none that night. Their journey was too near to allow him to do anything but make sure he had thought through all the necessary preparations. To confound things even further, all his mind seemed to want to think about was Elle. She was here. She hadn't spoken to him, but he could think of nothing else but her. When he had first laid eyes on her, Thorin hadn't known whether to scream in rage or in joy. Even in her absence – namely _because_ of her absence – Thorin's last six decades of life had been marred by a quiet torment. He had thought that causing her departure from the Blue Mountains would eventually lessen the feelings he'd felt for her, but, as they so cruelly say, absence only makes the heart grow fonder.

Sighing deeply, Thorin moved back down the hall. Settling into the chair in front of the small dining room fireplace, he pulled out the map and key given – no _returned_ –to him by Gandalf. Thorin smoothed the parchment out on the table, and began to examine it thoroughly from all angles.

After a half hour of fruitless searching, he gave up looking for whatever secrets Gandalf seemed to think were hidden in the folds of the tiny map. Leaning back in his chair and putting his feet up on the table in front of him, Thorin closed his eyes as his mind quietly drifted off to where it wanted to be.


	5. Fate

Thorin had never considered himself a dwarf prone to love. He'd met plenty dwarf-women in his lifetime, but, despite their obvious attempts at affection, none of them sparked anything inside the great warrior. He'd determined long ago that caring for his people mattered more to him than anything else ever could. However, fate caught him out for a walk one warm summer afternoon, and she decided to teach Thorin Oakenshield a lesson in love.

From the moment he'd set eyes on her, Thorin had known Elle was different. He could tell right away that she didn't have a beard, no matter how hard she obviously tried to obscure this fact. As they began to talk, he noticed that she seemed to hide behind her glorious hair and sooty workshop, but he thought nothing of it at the time. Well, truthfully he had thought about it, but decided foolishly that there was nothing about her that deserved explanation. To him, she was perfect. She was tall for a dwarf, and hid her slimmer stature under a work apron and tunic, but none of this bothered Thorin either. He didn't need to see more than her eyes and hear the kindness and strength in her voice to know that she was beautiful inside and out.

As little as he wanted to admit it, Thorin had been in love with Elle ever since he left her that first day. For weeks he was useless unless he was with her. It didn't matter if they ran out of things to talk about; he was content just helping her. It gave him a chance to show off for her a bit as well. The satisfaction he'd felt the first time she admired his work rivaled the glory of even the most hard fought victories. He couldn't concentrate unless he was watching her nimble, graceful hands hard at work. At night he fantasized about what it would feel like to run his fingers through her long curls.

Thorin quickly learned that Elle's past was a sensitive subject. She seemed to skirt around the subject when they first began to talk, but as he learned to open up to her, she did the same for him. The more Thorin trusted Elle, the more Elle trusted Thorin. Eventually, she told him the story of her isolated youth. She told him about her ranger friends and Gandalf. She told him about learning to hunt, and promised to show him how to use her hammer one day. The tale of her parent's deaths troubled Throin deeply, and the day Elle told him that story was the first day he reached out and held her hand. Thorin tried to get her to tell him more about her parents. He thought it might be nice for her to think back on her happy memories of them, but she quickly changed the subject back to his family when he suggested the idea. He was happy to indulge her, however, so he told her tales of life in Erebor. She seemed to love these stories, and even asked him to repeat some on occasion. As the weeks wore on and the weather grew colder, Thorin grew to accept the idea that life without Elle was a fate he no longer wanted to consider. Consequently, the morning of their eighth month anniversary, Thorin spent the long walk to Elle's shop rehearsing his words very carefully, his fingers fiddling nervously with something in his pocket.

This was why, upon meeting the new Elle that stood before him that morning, Thorin's anger and pain were far worse than Elle had ever expected. As he looked upon her then, he realized he had been right; behind the layer of dirt and curls she was indeed beautiful. Heartbreakingly so, in fact, but this didn't matter much to Thorin. Here he was, revealing everything about himself to this… this _elf_-kin, and she had strategically failed to reveal this tiny, but oh-so-crucial part of herself to him. How could he trust her when she had scorned him in the most painful way possible? And to think he had nearly embarrassed himself further. Thorin's pride had always ruled his emotions, and this instance was no different. Needing some concrete wrong-doing to justify his irrational fury, Thorin blamed everything on Elle's elf-blood. Deep down, however, he knew that, if he gave himself the chance, he would forgive her this fault in an instant. He didn't like nor trust elves, but he loved Elle, and that was enough. However, she had fooled him into exposing himself and THAT was a direct attack on his pride; something Thorin would never stand for.

As Thorin left Elle that day, he didn't head back to his home. Instead he turned in the opposite direction and walked out of the village, past the far boundaries of his city. Thorin walked and walked, and as he walked he thought. Every so often, his heart would soften and tell him to go back and apologize, but then he would feel the ring in his pocket, and the gaping hole in his vanity would ache even worse than before. Finally, he found himself on the edge of the Blue Mountains, his path impeded by the edge of sheer cliff. As he stood looking out upon the land below, wind blowing through his long black hair and throwing his coat out behind him, the dwarf king took the ring out of his pocket. Staring at the small treasure, Thorin thought about all the feelings held within that one tiny object. Suddenly, and with a mighty scream of anguish, he flung the dreadful thing into the abyss. However, as he stood there breathing heavily, a strange sensation rested against Thorin's palm and the dwarf looked down in confusion. There, sitting safely in his hand, was the ring. Thorin was astonished to say the least. What kind of madness was this? Sighing wearily, with a small feeling of relief he didn't quite acknowledge, the king closed his fist, sealed his heart, and turned around to head back home, vowing to forever remember the important lesson about love he'd learned that day: Love made even Kings foolish.

Thorin sat up, immediately worried he'd overslept the dawn. Looking around him quickly, he caught sight of the fire and let out a small sigh of relief. Judging by its size, he must have only dozed off for a couple of minutes. As he moved to get more comfortable in the small wooden chair, Thorin was bewildered to find that his hand had somehow found its way inside his coat pocket. As he pulled it out, his finger bumped against something small and hard.

"You've got to be joking…" Thorin murmured pulling the gold band out of his pocket in amazement. He hadn't even realized he still had the ring. After sixty two years of not noticing, he'd just assumed it had gotten lost. Very confused and a little bit alarmed, Thorin decided that some real rest was in order. He didn't want his mind playing anymore tricks on him once their journey started.


	6. Starting Out

The next morning was an early one for all the dwarves. Elle woke up later than the others, since Kili and Fili had decided to saddle her pony along with their own. Thorin, however, apparently saw this act of friendship as a sign of laziness, and took the opportunity to point it out.

"How courteous of you to join us." He grumbled as Elle exited the hobbit-hole carrying her weapons. Attempting to stifle a yawn, she glared at the dwarf king as he pulled the belly strap tight around his ride before mounting. As Elle dumped her weapons next to her ride, she heard Thorin's mount trot up and stop behind her. She knew he wanted her to look at him, but she refused to turn around. Instead she moved around to the front of her pony to greet the beast that would be carrying her for the next few weeks.

"I trust you will figure out how to saddle your own pony tomorrow." Thorin said irritably when she didn't acknowledge him. He trotted off noisily to gather the others.

"Someone's grouchy this morning," Elle muttered as she yanked on her own pony's belly strap in annoyance. As she looked over top of her horse, she caught Gandalf eye and he gave Elle a reassuring wink.

"Easy for you to say…" She grumbled. Apparently, Thorin's bad mood was contagious. She wasn't in the best mood that morning either. She was anxious for the journey to get underway. Satisfied with her saddle, Elle reached for her weapons. The two throwing axes she fit easily into her belt. They, along with several other conveniently located knives, were hidden underneath a large, fur lined coat, which Elle removed from one of her packs and threw over her tunic. To carry her staff, Ell had crafted a special sheath that secured her the long weapon over her right shoulder for easy access should she need it. Finally, her bow and quiver were secured tightly over her left shoulder. Hoisting herself onto her pony, Elle leaned over to whisper kindly in the animal's ear. The pony whinnied.

"Lydia? What a lovely name!" Elle laughed as Lydia whinnied again and trotted over to join the others as they came together in line.

OOOOO

"So much for our burglar." Bofur said to Elle as the company finally set off down the path away from the reluctant hobbit's home. Elle was surprised he hadn't been with them this morning, but she had seen something in Bilbo that reminded her of herself when she had been younger. It was a kind of spark, a thirst for the unknown.

"He'll come." She stated simply.

Gloin chuckled, "Ye sound pretty sure of that. Would ye like to make a wager, lass?"

Elle smiled, "Five silver coins says he'll be with us within the hour."

"I'll second that." Said Fili, from his place in line behind Elle.

"Ay, me too!" Said Kili. Several others chimed in their opinions as well, and the bet was on.

OOOOO

The next few days of their journey were fairly uneventful, since the Shire and the lands outside were tame and fairly untouched by anything dark. Bilbo had indeed caught up to the caravan in the forest just outside his town. His first few days in the outdoors were difficult for him, but Elle could tell that, in his own way, he was enjoying the adventure so far.

As the company left Hobbiton further and further behind, their road became harder to manage. The rolling hills eventually gave way to rockier slopes, which gave the ponies trouble on more than one occasion. More dangerous did not mean less beautiful, however, and the company were confronted by breathtaking views around every turn. Elle used this leisurely time to get to know a little bit more about each of her companions. Some of the dwarves were hard to talk to – she had to shout all her questions at Oin, and Bifur was nearly impossible to communicate with at all – but eventually she was able to build a rapport with all but two of her new companions. Dwalin she gave up on after her first attempt at conversation. The only replies she could get out of him were aggressive grunts, and she quickly realized he was fiercely loyal to Thorin. It seemed the only way she would gain his trust would be to win over their leader as well. This, however, didn't seem like something she was going to be able to do any time soon, so Elle decided not to think too much on the matter. After all, it wasn't a tragedy if, out of the whole lot, only two seemed to have a problem with her. No, the journey would be enjoyable even without their cooperation. Elle had made some fast new friends in both Bilbo and Bofur, and she was quite happy to let their merry chatter distract her from pining after something she couldn't have.

After their third day of traveling, just as the sun was beginning to sink behind the horizon, Thorin decided to stop for the night. He led the group a little ways down a steep hillside, where they found a wide space just big enough to fit their entire company, ponies and all. There was a small alcove set back into the rock that was a perfect place for Gloin to make a fire, and plenty of space around for sleeping and grazing the ponies. The latter had to be done next to the steep edge of the path, and Bilbo expressed his fears to Elle that Myrtle would slip off the edge of the path in the night. Feeling sorry for the hobbit, whose presence in the quest was still being openly questioned by many, Elle helped him untie his pony and move her to a safer location. Satisfied his friend was safe, Bilbo thanked her, and moved off to finish setting up his bed for the night.

As she watched the hobbit go, Elle caught Thorin staring at her disapprovingly from where he'd settled down by the fire with his nephews. She knew he did not like her indulging Bilbo's trivial worrying, but she couldn't help it. She remembered what her first nights alone in the wilderness had felt like. Bilbo was not hardy like a dwarf. It would take time for him to get used to this kind of traveling.

Pulling her bedding out from one of her packs, Elle chose a spot to sleep that was far away from the fire, and Thorin.

OOOOO

Thorin could hardly stand it. How was it that after only a few weeks of traveling, Elle had managed to befriend nearly all the members of his company? Couldn't they see he did not approve? Thorin's wounded pride throbbed in anger and resentment as he struggled to find rest on the edge of the cliff. From below him he could hear the occasional sounds of creatures roaming out in the dark, but none of that disturbed him. He was too preoccupied with that girl. She had no right coming back into his life like this. He had been done with her a long time ago, and here she was, back to confound him again. He could not be distracted from the task at hand. He must act indifferent to her if he was to find any peace. What was it his grandfather had always said? "A true King rules with his head. Steel the thoughts in your mind, and your heart will follow." For years he had struggled to tame his heart against Elle. How was he supposed to continue doing this while she was in such close proximity? He had failed to forget her when she was gone, and now that she was here…. Thorin wasn't one to give in to weakness, but he knew his weakness had found him again and there was nothing he could do about it. This infuriated him to no end.

As his mind stewed and struggled with this new development, Thorin's ears caught a word of his nephew's conversation that grabbed his attention instantly.

"Orcs…"

OOOOO

"You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?"

Elle awoke slowly from a restful sleep to the sound of raised voices coming from the campfire. From what it sounded like, Fili and Kili had done something to earn a stern reprimand from their uncle. Groaning, she rolled over in an attempt to block out the noise, but it was no use. She – and several other members of the company by the sound of it – were awake now. Elle could hear them rustling the leaves and grumbling as they tried to get back to sleep.

After a moment or two, heavy footsteps passed by where she lay. Sitting up sleepily, she saw that Thorin stood a ways away from the company, staring out into the night. Balin was over by the fire now, and Elle listened as the elderly dwarf disclosed the tragedy of Thorin's grandfather, Thror, and his father, Thrain. Elle was surprised by this new information. The only stories she had ever heard of Thorin and his family were of happier times inside the mountains of Erebor. He had never brought up any stories after the desolation of their homeland, and Elle had always assumed his father and grandfather hadn't survived. Apparently, their fate was far worse.

A tiny flame of empathy sparked in Elle's heart. A King thrust into power after the brutal murder of his grandfather, and the disappearance of his father. Nothing Elle could have imagined could have been more terrible. "Except for what he did to you." Her head reminded her, and her flickering sympathy quickly dimmed until it was no more than a small ember.

"But the Pale Orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked as Balin finished his tale. Each member of the company was fully awake now, and staring in fascination at their leader as he walked slowly back towards the fire.

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long-ago."

Thorin settled himself down by the fire, and the rest of the company headed back to their blankets, content with this ending to the horrid tale of the Pale Orc. However, as she turned to lay back down, Elle caught a look that passed between Gandalf and the elderly Balin. Neither looked as confident in this statement as Thorin sounded.

Pulling her blankets a bit tighter around her, Elle settled down to try and get a few more hours of sleep. Sleep found her again, but wherever her dreams took her that night, a pale white shadow always followed.


	7. Realization

The next few days of travel were very damp, and by the end of their first week on the road, everyone had grown very irritable.

"Is there no end to this downpour?" Dwalin grumbled, throwing his bedding to the ground in frustration. His, like everyone else's, was soaked clean through. It would be another night upon the damp ground for everyone.

"Fili, Kili, you have first watch." Thorin barked to his nephews.

Both Fili and Kili looked at each other and groaned quietly. Only Elle was close enough to hear. She felt sorry for her friends. Thorin had been placing them on watch nearly every night so far. They deserved a full nights rest.

"I can take first watch." Elle offered. She hadn't done any shifts so far, and she felt that it was high time she made herself useful.

"Really, Elle? You certainly don't have-"

"You will do no such thing." Fili was interrupted by his uncle. Elle looked over at Thorin and saw he was staring back at her with contempt, "Do not test me." He growled at his nephews, not even addressing Elle, "You will do as _I_ say. Fili and Kili will take first watch." He turned his back on her, stalking off to make a place for himself underneath a tree a ways away from the rest of the group.

Elle growled in anger, but chose not to make a retort. As much as she would have liked to, there was no need to invoke Thorin's wrath tonight. Sleep was more important.

"Valar, would I like to show him a thing or two…" Elle muttered furiously as she pulled her wet jacket closer around her and tried to find a comfortable position in which to sleep.

OOOOO

After several more days of rain, the sun finally came out again. This created a notable improvement in the general atmosphere of the group, and there was chatter and laughter to be heard once more.

Two days after the sun's reappearance, just as the night was beginning to close in, the company came across a small, run-down cottage on the edge of a darkened forest.

"We'll camp here for tonight. Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them." Thorin commanded, reining in his pony and dismounting. Everyone sighed in relief and followed suite. It had been a long day's ride.

Elle, however, did not dismount right away. Her keen eyes tried to pierce the forest's edge, but only grey shadows could be seen. The old cottage also held the same grey shadows. Elle wasn't sure why, but they did not sit well with her.

"I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the Hidden Valley." She heard Gandalf suggest, and she was glad someone else had the courage to speak up. Thorin, however, would not be persuaded. Elle listened to their quarrel as she too dismounted and began unpacking her bedroll. Unfortunately, Gandalf did not make any headway against the stubborn dwarf.

"Everything alright? Gandalf, where are you going?" She heard Bilbo asked wordily, and turned around just as Gandalf stormed past her angrily.

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense!" The wizard fumed.

"Who's that?"

"Myself!" And with that, Gandalf stalked off down the path.

Elle watched Gandalf leave, and her heart sank. They should not be here, that much she could tell. If the shadow hanging around the edge of the woods wasn't enough to set anyone else's teeth on edge, the abandoned farm house should have had the same effect. As she helped the rest of the dwarves set up camp, she grew more and more uneasy. As much as she didn't want to have to talk to Thorin, maybe he would listen if a second person came to him with the same concerns. Squaring her shoulders resolutely she made her way up the hill to where Thorin stood lost in thought underneath the eaves of the old house. He sighed in an irritated way as she as she knocked carefully on one of the rotting planks in the doorway.

"Thorin, I know we've started to set up camp, but I don't know if we should-"

"If you're here to tell me we should make for The Hidden Valley, I've already discussed this with the wizard."

"I am not suggesting the path to Rivendell, Thorin, I only suggest…"  
"I have no interest in what you suggest." Thorin stated without even turning around. Elle felt the anger begin to burn in her chest, but she closed her eyes and forced it back. She would not give him the satisfaction.

"I know you think I am different, and I understand your hesitation to-"

"You will NEVER understand because you are not one of us!" Thorin shouted spinning around to face her. His eyes blazed with a fierce, angry pride, and Elle stepped back in surprise. "Elves are not to be trusted, and as their blood runs in your veins" Thorin was upon her at this point and his chest was mere inches from hers "YOU are not to be trusted. "

He turned to leave her, but Elle was done letting him get the last word in. He could do that back in the Blue Mountains when he'd been surrounded by his supporters, but here she had friends. She had strength too. Grabbing his arm, she made him listen.

"I know you think we are very different, Thorin Oakenshield, but the hair on my head and the blood in my veins says we are NOT. I know you think I don't belong here, but in my eyes, I belong here just as much, if not more than any of you!" At that Thorin's eyes widened and he made to argue, but Elle cut him off. "The last one hundred and twenty YEARS of my life I have spent wandering from place to place with nowhere to call home and no one to call family. Yes, I have spent some of those years in the company of elves, but only because they do not turn me away! They don't hound me and strip me of my dignity until I have no CHOICE but to leave, even though it means leaving the closest friends I have EVER known, as well as the man I-" She stopped short, realizing this was not a conversation she wanted to have right now. Thorin tore his eyes away from hers in embarrassment. Elle took pity on him, and tried to remove some of the anger from her voice. "I am sorry for what happened between us, but that is in the past, Thorin. I am not trying to offend you by coming with you on this journey; I am simply trying to find a place for myself. At least have the decency to grant me that chance." With that last parting statement Elle turned and walked away from the king. She could feel his eyes burning holes into the back of her head, but she didn't stop or turn until she reached the fire pit. There, she greeted the stunned company with a small smile, and sat down heavily upon a log. Dwalin immediately began sharpening his axe with his whetstone in a threatening sort of way, but Elle was too distracted to care.

"Don't take his stubbornness to heart, lassie." Balin murmured kindly as he brought her the first bowl of stew. The gesture lifted Elle's spirits, and she accepted it with a gracious smile. Her smile grew even larger as she saw Balin knock the whetstone out of his brother's hands on his way back around the fire. "Behave." She heard him mutter, and it was all she could do not to snicker at the murderous look on Dwalin's face.

"Thank you, Balin." She said happily helping herself to a large spoonful of her dinner. It wasn't the most delicious concoction Bombur had ever made, but it was filling, and it gave her strength.

"Do you really think there's something out there?" Nori asked, coming to take a seat on her left with his dinner.

"Is it something… unnatural?" Dori asked sitting down next to his brother.

"I'm not sure." Elle said slowly trying to find the words to describe what was making her nervous, "I just have a bad feeling… It's as if something obvious is staring us straight in the face, but we've missed what it's telling us."

"I know what it's tellin' us… Time for a new cook!" Ori piped in. He had just taken his first spoonful of stew and did not seem pleased at all. His remark sparked a chorus of laughter, and Elle chuckled along with them. Not even Thorin's bad mood could dampen the spirits of this company.

OOOOO

Thorin stood and looked out over his companions. He suddenly felt very lonely. As he watched Elle retreat back down the path to where the other dwarves were gathered for dinner, Thorin couldn't help but feel shamed by her words. It was true. He had done those terrible things she said. He had acted rashly and he had acted wrongly, and to top it all off his plan hadn't even worked. He had told himself so many times that he didn't feel anything for Elle, but in reality he still loved her just as much as he had twenty years ago; maybe even more judging by the way it was getting harder and harder to control his emotions around her. Thorin wanted her admiration so badly it hurt, but each time that ache came – when she talked to him, or when she did something to draw his attention – his pride shut it out with angry words and foolish actions. In that moment, as he watched Elle interacting with the rest of the company, Thorin had a strange epiphany. Her kindness, her strength, her humor, her laugh, all of these things had been branded into his soul, and he was a fool if he thought he could continue on living without them. Yes, she had hurt his pride, but, if he thought about it realistically, that wound had been well on its way to healing many years ago. The worst part about the way he'd treated her, Thorin reflected forlornly, was not the guilt he felt for having treated her so badly; the worst part by far was the realization that she would probably never forgive him.


	8. Trolls

**I've read so many stories about this particular part of the adventure and I know that out there somewhere someone wrote a scene very much like this one but for the life of me I can't remember where I found it. It was one of the first stories I read that I really loved and it was one of the big inspirations for this story. I just wanted to throw that out there in case anyone comes across this and is like"Hey, that kinda sounds like my idea!". No infringement intended! I just thought it was such a cool idea :) **

"I'm going to check on the boys." Elle stated once she'd finished her dinner. Grabbing her staff, Elle took off down the path towards the clearing where the ponies were being kept for the night. She'd barely made it under the cover of the trees, however, when Fili and Kili came rushing out of the underbrush towards her. They were excited and out of breath.

"Trolls!" Fili exclaimed once they'd come to a stop in front of Elle.

"Trolls!? Where?" She asked gripping her staff tighter and peering into the trees.

"In the woods down that way!" Kili pointed behind him and continued on breathlessly, "Bilbo came to give us our stew, but Bungo and Daisy were missing and then they took Myrtle and Mindy… Bilbo stated, quite rightly in fact, that we had to rescue them! And so we… well, he is our burglar after all…"

"Bilbo went to – Oh no, what did you two do?" Elle cried in dismay. A horrible vision of Bilbo being squashed by a clumsy Troll foot appeared in her mind. Before the brothers could answer, Elle was sprinting into the woods to help the hobbit. "Go tell Thorin! Get the others!" She shouted to them over her shoulder.

A few yards further into the thick grove of trees, Elle spotted the glow of a fire ahead of her, and slowed to a stealthy jog. Getting as close to the scene as she dared, she saw a frightened Bilbo standing in front of three giant trolls with a disgusting looking substance covering him from head to foot. Behind the dwarves, Elle saw the ponies he had been trying to rescue. Elle watched as Bilbo tried to talk with the Trolls, but things quickly got out of hand. Suddenly, one of the great beasts made a grab for Bilbo. He was quick enough to dodge the first swipe, but even the swift little hobbit could not outrun three trolls. As Bilbo was swept off his feet, Elle knew she had to do something. Without thinking, she sprinted into the clearing where the trolls were holding Bilbo captive over a boiling pot of water.

"Drop him!" She shouted crouching into a fighting stance with her staff in front of her.

"You what?" One troll questioned her in surprise.

"I said, drop him!"

In one sudden movement, the troll tossed Bilbo at Elle. His small frame crashed into her chest, knocking the wind from her lungs. As she struggled to catch her breath, she pushed Bilbo off of her and towards the trees. She was about to scramble to her feet herself, when out of the bushes behind her poured the rest of the company. Elle watched as Thorin, Kili, Bifur, Bofur, and every other member of their company raced by her and Bilbo to attack the unsuspecting enemy. The sight and sound of the formidable dwarves caught the trolls off-guard, and their faces would have been comical were it not for the danger Elle knew her friends were in. Trolls were stupid, but they were big and their skin was tough. It would take a long time for their small group to take down three full grown trolls.

"Bilbo, get the ponies!" She shouted at the frightened hobbit before jumping into the fray with a blood-curdling yell.

Spinning her staff above her head, Elle slashed at the nearest troll's calf before whirling around to smash his toe with her hammer. She felt a satisfying crunch of bone. Turning and brandishing her weapon in an ever-spiraling motion, Elle brought her hammer down again and again. However, despite the pain their injuries must be causing them, the trolls did not give up. In fact, the more discomfort they suffered, the more wild and dangerous their movements became. Twice Elle was nearly knocked off her feet by a swinging fist, and once she was bowled over by Ori as he was tossed through the air. Pulling the frightened dwarf to his feet, Elle ran back towards the fight.

Quickly trying to determine where her help was needed, she caught sight of Thorin's distinctive form as he battled an enemy to her left. Elle turned to go the other direction, and nearly ran headlong into another troll sprinting in his direction. Ducking low as the giant beast blundered over her, Elle grabbed a throwing axe from her belt. "Thorin!" She screamed over the noise of the battle, and he turned just as the troll reached out to grab him. As huge fingers closed around Throin's torso, Ell cocked her wrist and let her axe fly. With impeccable precision, the blade embedded itself between two of the troll's knuckles. The giant brute howled in pain. Thorin fell to the ground as the monster stumbled away, throwing the axe back on the ground as it went.

Thorin looked from the axe and then to Elle. His expression was unreadable, but he nodded once quickly before turning and attacking the trolls even more fiercely than before. Elle grabbed her weapon and went back to work. The battle went on and the confusion grew until suddenly Elle heard a small cry from above her. She and her comrades looked up to see Bilbo hanging above them, his arms and legs captured by two trolls. Kili, who was standing by Elle at the front of the company, immediately moved to rescue the helpless hobbit, but both Elle and Thorin held him back.

"Lay down your arms!" One of the three commanded, "Or we'll rip his off!"

After a moment's hesitation, during which everyone looked to Thorin for guidance, their leader finally stuck his sword in the ground in frustrated submission. The rest of the company reluctantly followed his lead.

Celebrating their victory over the dwarves, the three trolls quickly divided up their prisoners. Half of the dwarves were tossed into sacks and piled off to the side, while the rest were de-armored and undressed for cooking. Fortunately for Elle, the smaller of the three trolls scooped her up before she had been forced to participate in what would have ended up being quite a humiliating situation.

"I like this one! It's cute!" The troll said holding Elle up to his face to get a better look at her. Elle's stomach heaved at the disgusting stench of his breath. "I'm keepin' it!" He exclaimed looking over to the bigger trolls as if he were worried one of them would challenge his idea.

"As long as I don't 'ave to listen to yer blubberin' again when ye end up steppin' on it." The bigger troll with the apron said as he stood contemplating the handful of noisy dwarves yelling up at him angrily. Elle couldn't help but smile as she listened to her friends curse the dwarves emphatically, shaking their fists at their captors threateningly.

"Or sittin' onnit! Ye 'member the last one, Bert?"

"Yeah, yeah… now both a yas shut yer gobs. I'm tryin' ta think…. mhmmm roasting is best." With that statement, the aproned troll grabbed the fist full of the clammering dwarves, and began tying them to the roasting spit. Elle struggled against the fist holding her in an attempt to help her friends but it was no use. Her new troll friend was holding onto her tightly and staring at her with delight.

"I think I'll call you smally… NO smelly…. NO stinky!" He said with glee tossing her casually over his shoulder

"Who're you callin' stinky!?" Elle shouted indignantly trying in vain to pry herself out of the awkward, upside-down position. Her clawing made no impression on the think troll-hide, however, and her captor simply began strolling around the campfire, critiquing his upcoming meal. "Don't bother cookin' 'em." He said cheerfully as the dwarves futilely protested their uncomfortable situation, "Let's just sit on 'em and squash 'em into jelly!"

"They should be sautéed. And grilled with a sprinkle of sage." The other piped in, and Elle's troll agreed that that did sound quite nice.

"Never mind the seasoning," the cook grumbled, "We ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away, let's get a move on! I don't fancy being turned to stone!" She hardly had time to think about how important this piece of information was, before she was distracted by the disappearance of the grip around her legs, and the ground rushing up to meet her. Apparently the smaller troll's reputation for killing pets was as bad as it sounded. He'd let go of her legs in his hurry to help with supper.

Elle and hit the ground with a painful thud. Her left arm bore the worst of the impact, and she'd lost her breath. In a dazed kind of shock, Elle remained motionless for a moment or too. The fresh round of insults and cries of dismay from her friends slowly brought her back around, and she snapped back to life with a gasp. Spotting a chance for freedom, Elle began to scramble over to where Bilbo and her friends were wriggling angrily in their bags. Her left arm was hanging uselessly with what was probably a dislocated elbow, and she didn't get far before a troll hand shot out and grabbed her by her long hair. Elle let out a scream of pain as she was hoisted up and scolded by her new master.

"Now now, smelly, don't you go getting' any funny ideas. We're gonna have fun you 'n me! We just gotta eat your friends first." Lowering him to his side, Elle gasped in relief when her feet touched the ground and some of the pressure was taken off her hair and scalp. Thinking quickly and realizing she didn't want to risk any more injury to her elbow by leaving it like it was, she took a hold of her wrist and pulled downwards. Dizzy with pain, Elle was glad when her forearm slid back into place without much trouble. The worst was over. Elle held her arm to her tightly to avoid jostling it if she was dragged around again. Taking deep gulps of air, she willed herself to calm down and try to think straight. They needed to think of a plan. Luckily for all of them, someone was already a few steps ahead of her.

"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake." A yell had come from the direction of her trussed up companions, and Elle recognized the voice immediately as Bilbo's. She tried to crane around to see him, but her back was to this group of dwarves, and she couldn't get far enough around the troll's hand to see anything. As Dori yelled from the spit: "You can't reason with them! They're half-wits!" she heard Bilbo scramble up quickly, and hopped towards the trolls, demanding their attention.

"I meant with the uh.. with the, with the seasoning."

"Wha' about the seasoning…?" The cook said peering at Bilbo menacingly.

"Well, have you smelt them? You're gonna need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up." Bilbo's words caused an immediate uproar amongst the dwarves. There were shouts and cries of "Traitor!" and other obscenities, but Bilbo stuck his course.

The second troll turning the spit spoke up, "What do you know about cooking dwarves?" he sneered skeptically.

"Shut up! And let the uh, flurgaburburahobbit talk." The big troll said moving towards Bilbo with curiosity.

"Uh… The secret to cooking dwarf is um…" Elle could practically hear Bilbo's brain working.

"Yes?" The troll gestured at him impatiently. "Come on, tell us the secret!"

"Yes, yes I'm telling you, the secret is-" Bilbo said sounding slightly frantic, "to… skin them first!" Elle would have laughed out loud at the ensuing chaos that followed that remark had she not been in such an uncomfortable position. She was just beginning to understand Bilbo's plan, but obviously no one else had caught on to what he was doing.

"Tom," the cook said gesturing to the other large troll, "get me my filleting knife."

"I won't forget that!" Dwalin shouted down from the rotating spit, shaking his fist at the hobbit.

"What a load of rubbish!" The troll called Tom said continuing to turn the spit, "I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scarf 'em I say, boots and all."

"They taste better with their skins on!"

"He's right!" Elle's troll chimed in, dragging her with him as he stomped over to the pile of dwarves on the ground. Elle had to scramble to keep up, but now she was in a better place to see what was going on. She caught Fili's eye from where he lay on his stomach looking rather uncomfortable.

"Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf!" With that, Bombur was lifted up by the greedy troll, and hung over its disgusting mouth. "Nice and crunchy!"

"Not, n-not that one!" Bilbo shouted hurriedly, "He, he's… infected!" Even Elle didn't know where he was going with that statement, but the troll had paused and was looking at Bilbo worriedly.

"You what? Tom asked in alarm.

"Yeah, he's got worms, in his…tubes." Bilbo looked almost as confused as Elle, but his warning had the desired effect. The troll flung Bombur back onto the pile in disgust. The big dwarf landed on top of Kili, who groaned loudly.

"I-In fact they all have!" Bilbo continued on as the trolls looked at the dwarves with revulsion, "They infested with parasites. It's terrible business. I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't."

Elle did laugh quietly at that, partially because of the hilarity of Bilbo's statement, and partially because of the sudden, furious indignation expressed by every dwarf in the company.

"Did he say parasites?"

"We don't have parasites! You have parasites!" Kili voice rose above the other's, sounding very much like a young dwarf whose feelings had been terribly hurt. The only dwarf who wasn't shouting anymore was Thorin, and Elle wondered if he had caught on to what Bilbo was trying to do. As if on cue, Thorin looked at her questioningly. "SUN" Elle mouthed silently, and with a nod of agreement, Thorin kicked his nephew roughly. Apparently that did the trick, because Oin suddenly shouted, "I've got parasites as big as my arm!"

Kili chimed in next. "I've got the biggest parasites! I've got huge parasites!" And the dwarves were off again.

"No, mine are the biggest!"

"We're riddled!"

"Absolutely riddled!"

"Yes we are!"

Elle was enjoying this situation immensely, until the troll manning the other end of the spit opposite from Elle and her troll, left his post suddenly to lumber up to Bilbo.

"What would you have us do then? Let 'em all go?"

Bilbo's head tilted to the side, and shrugged at the irony, "Well…"

"You think I don't know what you're up to?" The troll rumbled, pushing the hobbit. Turning to his companions he shouted, "This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

Bilbo shouted indignantly, and Elle smiled again. Leave it to the hobbit to resent being called a ferret at a time like this. Suddenly, a deep voice boomed from somewhere above the troll's heads.

"The dawn will take you all!"

Elle yelled in alarm and pain as the troll with his fist still tight around her hair, turned to face the newcomer, dragging her with him.

"Who's that?" The dwarf across from Elle asked.

"Can we eat him too?" Elle's captor joined in. He started to move towards the silhouette Elle immediately recognized as Gandalf, but at that very moment there was a giant crack, and the bright light of the rising sun filled the clearing. In a vain attempt to shield himself from the devastating rays, Elle's captor doubled over, forcing her to kneel on the ground next to his fist. As the dwarves watched their enemies turn to stone in stunned fascination, Elle suddenly realized what was about to happen. Swearing sharply, she scrambled onto her knees and tried to get away. She yanked on her braids with her good arm, twisting fiercely to try and free herself from the fist that was quickly turning to stone. It was no use. In a matter of seconds, Elle's hair was caught in an unbreakable vise.


	9. Sheared

"Gandalf!" Elle gasped as the wizard ran to her aid. "Please, help me…" He tried every spell he could think of, but none even cracked the surface of the enchanted rock. As the dwarves were freed, they all came over to try their luck at breaking the fingers trapping their friend, but to no avail. Even Dwalin came to help, but the stone would not budge, not even under his mighty swing. Elle thanked them all sadly as she realized what the only logical next step was.

As the members of the company milled about her gathering up their clothing and equipment, Elle delayed the inevitable for as long as possible. As loath as she was to admit it, she was afraid. To cut a woman's hair entirely was to bring shame upon herself and her family. It was only done in the worst of circumstances, and even then it was an extremely severe punishment among all races.

Carefully taking her injured arm out of her coat, she fashioned herself a sling out of her empty sleeve and a spare strip of leather she found in her pocket. As she performed this task, her mind was occupied with thoughts of her father, and memories of sitting with him as he braided her hair, and told her tales of long, long ago. After her father had died, Elle had stopped braiding her hair, preferring to let it fall freely around her shoulders. It was the one defining feature she had shared with her father, and it helped her remember him. Elle was frightened of what she would forget if she lost this essential part of herself.

"Elle…." A soft voice broke through her reverie, and Elle looked up as Fili knelt down next to her. His gloved hands reached out to help her secure the thong around her folded over sleeve, and Elle sighed sadly.

"I know it has to be done. It'll grow back. Just… give me a moment." She murmured to her friend. Before she even had time to collect herself, she heard Fili swear quietly as strong footsteps approached from behind her. Elle knew who's they were, and a sudden anger boiled in her blood.

"Uncle, no. Please, give her a moment…"

"There's no time. We have to move on." Elle heard a sword being drawn, and Fili swore again. Opening her eyes, Elle looked up swiftly, just as Thorin was about to bring his blade down across her hair. He stopped in surprise, and stared down into Elle's bottomless expression. Her face was pale and drawn, and yet her beauty and strength stunned the dwarf king even then. He lowered his weapon, but could not look away.

"Thorin…" Her voice was hoarse, but firm. Her eyes never left his, "You have made it very clear that you can take away both my pride and my dignity at your own whim, but you may not take them from me today. Not like this." It took the stunned dwarf many seconds to free himself from the gaze from the figure before him, but once he had, he left without a word.

Elle watched him retreat with a frown, but her expression relaxed once she turned back to her friend. "I know it's not rational, but… I'm afraid to lose my hair." She admitted quietly, and Fili sat back on his heels to listen. "It's all I have left of my father… of my dwarf heritage, if you will. Besides, all the women I've ever see with shorn hair were terrible people who'd done terrible things. We used to make up horrible stories about what they'd done… do you remember?" Fili nodded with a small smile. "I just… don't want people to think of me like that." With a resigned sigh, Elle reached into her coat and drew out one of her father's old knives. "Keep as much of it as you can." Despite its age, the blade was sharp, and the ordeal was over in a matter of moments. What was left of her hair was only just long enough to brush the tops of her shoulders. Taking one last deep breath, Elle stood up.

"Would you like me to braid it, Elle?" Fili offered as he steadied his friend, and handed her back the knife. Elle took the blade with a glum "thanks", but she couldn't bring herself to look at Fili. She felt naked without her hair around her shoulders. Her head felt oddly light without the weight of it all.

"Could you?"

Fili nodded and, in a gesture that warmed Elle's heart, he reached into his own hair to pull out one of the bands emblazoned with the runes of his people. Ellie stood still as his quick fingers created two braids, which he fastened together at the back of her head with the metal clasp.

"Fili, I don't know what to say…" Elle said once he'd finished. She turned to face him, and immediately felt self-conscious. She hadn't worn her hair pulled back in decades.

"Ask me how you look." Fili said with a mischievous grin as he admired his work.

"How do I look?"

"Truthfully, you look like an elf."

"Fili!" Elle gasped in mock indignation as a grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. Tugging her hood up over her hair, she gave her friend a playful smack, "If it was anyone but you…"

"C'mon, let's head back." Fili said still chuckling. Elle began to follow him, but before they left the clearing, she turned around one last time to blow a loud raspberry at the three trolls that had caused the company so much trouble. Laughing at his friend's childish gesture, Fili took Elle's free hand and helped her through the woods. Just before they came out from under the cover of the trees, Fili turned to Elle with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

"You are one of strongest people I have ever met, Elle, both in spirit and in battle." He began after a moment, "You have shown that to Kili and me countless times, and I know you have shown that to every member of this company today as we fought together. I know I speak for all of us when I say that the loss of your hair is akin to a well-earned battle scar. One you should not be ashamed of." With this, Fili reached up and lowered Elle's hood. Taking her hand once more, he lead her out of the forest and up the small hill to where the company was gathered waiting for the last two members of their party. The dwarves greeted the pair with happy congratulations, and solid thumps on the back. Elle was acutely aware of her appearance, but she seemed to be the only one. Even Dwalin came up to her with a friendly laugh, and gave her a mighty slap on the shoulder, sending a jolt of pain through her swollen arm. Elle was too happy to notice her discomfort, however, and she gave the bigger dwarf a smile in return. Everyone was glad to have made it out victorious and fairly unscathed. Bombur was sporting a nasty looking bump on his head from when he'd been thrown, and Kili's seemed a bit sore from being landed on, but no one had suffered any injuries worse than a dislocated elbow; a minor miracle when one considered what could have happened

OOOOO

Having made it through the crowd, Elle grabbed her packs, and brought them over to where Bilbo was standing quietly petting the nose of his pony.

"Well done, Bilbo!" She exclaimed bending down slightly to wrap him in a tight, one armed embrace.

"So you caught on then?" He asked with a slight smile, "I have to admit, I was worried some of the dwarves would get free just to come at me! I didn't really know what I was doing half the time."

"Somehow, I could tell." Elle laughed softly.

"I'm… just glad it all worked out." Elle knew how he felt. The feeling of having faced death and survived was one even the bravest of fighters never quite got over. "But what happened to your arm?" Bilbo asked suddenly shaking himself out of his daze.

"I fell on it when that stupid oaf dropped me," Elle looked down at her arm in its makeshift sling.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not so much anymore. I'm hoping Gandalf will look at it for me, but I haven't seen him since he rescued us from the trolls. Do you know where he's gone?"

"I heard him and Thorin talking earlier about caves… I guess that's where we're getting ready to head off to."

Looking around, Elle saw that Gandalf and Thorin both were indeed nowhere to be seen. Just then, a cheery voice called out to Bilbo.

"So! I hear all those ridiculous things ye were sayin' were just a stall for time then, ay master hobbit?" Elle smiled as Bofur came over to them.

"Well, that was the general idea…" Bilbo shrugged modestly.

"It flew right over my head, that's for sure… but I'm glad at least one of us has something solid between their shoulders." He clapped Bilbo on the back heartily, and the hobbit nearly toppled forward.

"Ay, and good work by you as well!" The kind dwarf said turning to Elle with something resembling a proud smile. Elle felt a blush spreading across her face. Before she could voice her thanks, a loud voice called out to the dwarves. "We've found the troll's cave." Elle looked to see Thorin standing a little ways up the path by the forest, "Don't pack the ponies, it's just over the hill."

As the group moved off, Elle tried to slip her staff back into place on her back. Seeing her struggling, Bofur reached out to help.

"I have to say that's a mighty weapon you've got."

"Thank you, Bofur." Elle said smiling, but her embarrassment was no less. She was having a hard time looking at people. Her shorn hair made her feel naked and exposed. Noticing the embarrassment lurking just behind the surface of her smile, Bofur reached out to carefully tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "You look as brave and as beautiful as they day I met ye, lassie. Ye don't need hair to tell ye who ye are, or where ye belong for that matter. After today there's not a one of us who'd deny it. You belong right here… with us. Both a ye's." Bilbo and Elle exchanged a look, and Elle saw her own happiness reflected back at her through the hobbit's eyes. He gave her a satisfied shrug, and they followed the rest of the dwarves over the hill to the caves beyond.


	10. Radagast

"Gandalf!" Elle called to the wizard as she and the few stragglers at the back of the group finally made their way to the cave. Some of the group had already explored the cavern at this point, and were reconvening outside the entrance enjoying deep gulps of fresh air. The wizard was the last to exit, and he turned as Elle came up to him.

"Gandalf, I was wondering if you would look at-"

"Not now, my dear girl." The wizard said distractedly, "There are others in this company who would be more suited to aid you than I… Bilbo!" He called and moved past her to talk to the hobbit.

"What on earth…?" Elle muttered very much taken aback. Feeling slightly put out, she watched the old man hand Bilbo a small blade. His eyes opened wide as he carefully received his first weapon, and she couldn't help but smile fondly. She would have to teach the hobbit how to use it.

"Someone will have to teach him how to wield that blade." Elle turned around, startled. Somehow, Thorin had snuck up on her from behind.

"Yes." She paused and attempted to breathe normally again, "Yes, I had just been thinking something similar." She waited for the dwarf to make a complaint, or request something of her, or issue a command, but he did none of these. Instead, he simply stood contemplating her with something that looked suspiciously like respect. Elle blushed under his intense scrutiny. After a moment he spoke gruffly, but not unkindly. "I'm sorry to have startled you. I only wanted to convey my gratitude for… earlier with the trolls. You came to my aide, and… consequently, I am in your debt." He bowed stiffly, but instead of turning to go as Elle would have expected, he remained where he stood, staring awkwardly at her feet.

Elle grinned in surprised happiness at this recognition, but she couldn't resist poking fun at the ridiculously serious nature of Thorin's thanks. "Of course you are most welcome, noble Thorin. I will be sure to remind you of your debt next time I find my life is in peril." Thorin's head shot up indignantly, but when he saw the playful smirk she was barely managing to conceal, he relaxed. Not wanting to push her luck too far, Elle swallowed her laughter, but the smile remained. For a moment it looked like a smile was hiding behind Thorin's beard as well, but if it was, it quickly disappeared as his eyes dropped down to her makeshift sling.

"You are hurt." It was more of a statement than a question. Elle opened her mouth to brush it off as nothing that warranted concern, but Thorin was suddenly approaching her, and her words were lost in a surprised swallow. She watched as Thorin reached out to examine her arm, but he suddenly hesitated. He looked up at her carefully as though it had occurred to him that maybe she wouldn't want him to touch her. "May I?" He asked softly. Concern shown clearly on his face, and Elle nodded, unable to find her voice.

Thorin's touch was gentle as he carefully lifter her arm out of the folded sleeve. With one hand he cupped her elbow, and the other carefully slid the sleeve of her tunic up over her arm. The innocent action felt incredibly intimate to Elle, and her heart began to stutter with uncertainty. As she savored the feeling of Thorin's hands tracing gently over her skin, she found herself peeking up at him from underneath her lashes. His face was relaxed, but there was an intent concern there that warmed her heart. He no longer looked like the cold-hearted, prideful king. No, this Thorin seemed more like the kind dwarf she had come to care for so many years ago. Maybe she had misjudged him earlier. Perhaps his attempt to cut her hair really had just been about getting away from the Trollshaws, and not at all about humiliating her. Valar knows where one bad thing – or in this case three bad things - settles in, many more usually follow.

"Does that hurt?" Thorin asked as he squeezed her elbow lightly. He glanced up, and Elle blinked hard before dropping her gaze in embarrassment.

"What? Oh, no." Elle let out the breath she had not realized she'd been holding. She stared hard at the ugly bruise spreading over her arm, her pink cheeks growing even hotter. "No, that doesn't hurt."

"What about this?" Thorin carefully began to un-bend her arm. The limb was stiff with swelling and didn't move far, but the throbbing ache began again and Elle winced.

"Yes, that hurts a bit."

Thorin nodded and slowly threaded her arm back into its sling. "It doesn't appear broken, which is good. Obviously, it will be a few days before you can use it… which will be a pity for us if we run into any more trouble." He looked up at her again, and there was a tentative smile playing across his features. Elle obliged him with a smile of her own in return.

"Since when did Thorin Oakenshield become a healer?" She asked trying to sound relaxed. Her nervousness got the best of her, however, and her voice was breathy with suppressed energy. Luckily, Thorin didn't seem to notice, and he chuckled in reply. The soft, deep laughter resonated around the tight clearing, and some of the company looked up in surprise. Taking no notice of the others curiosity, Thorin nodded to Elle pleasantly and took his leave. However, before he left her, he added hesitantly, "We… dwarves are hearty people. You will not take long to heal."

Elle didn't know what to say; she simply stared dumbfounded as Thorin left and made his way over to talk with Dwalin. She'd hoped against hope that this journey would help change Thorin's bad opinion of her, but she hadn't expected his acceptance so soon. Feeling happy, but very, very confused, Elle turned to go find Fili and Kili. Maybe they could help explain Thorin's strange change of heart.

Leaving Elle behind him, Thorin headed over to where Dwalin was standing alone surveying the rest of the company. He smiled as he thought about the shocked look on Elle's face after he had recognized her dwarf heritage. Thorin was slightly surprised by how easy it had been to act with civility towards her. At first he had been unsure of how to approach her, but it was incredible how easily his façade of rejection had fallen once he had her attention. There was no way of knowing how she would react, but he already felt as if an incredible weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and that alone was enough of an improvement, for the time being. He would take his time, but now Thorin had confidence that he could earn back her affection.

Just as Elle reached Kili, a shout of warning rang out amongst the company. The sound of something very large and heavy crashing through the underbrush grew louder and Elle saw many of the dwarves draw their weapons in anticipation. Her heart sank. None of them were up for taking on more trolls.

But it wasn't trolls at all. It was a very strange sled led by the largest rabbits Elle had ever seen. On top of the sled sat a raggedy old wizard Elle recognized from Gandalf's stories. It was Radagast the Brown. He seemed incredibly upset, and he glanced around the group anxiously.

"Radagast," Gandalf said approaching his friend, "Radagast the Brown. What on earth are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong! Something is terribly wrong…" Elle and Kili looked at each other to make sure they'd both heard the wizard correctly. Surely there were dangers in the wild woods, but what kind of beast frightened a wizard?

"Yes?" Gandalf encouraged the frightened man to continue, but Radagast seemed to be having trouble composing his thoughts.

"Just give me a minute… Oh, I had a thought-" The brown wizard paused and his brow furrowed in concentration, "And now I've lost it! It was right there on the tip of my tongue!" He stuck out his tongue to Gandalf as if to show him just where this thought had been, "Oh! Iths noth a sthought at thall! It juthst a little… Gandalf reached up to pull something from his friend's mouth, "…stick insect!"

Elle looked to Kili again, and they both smirked with suppressed laughter as Gandalf rolled his eyes and pulled Radagast a little ways down the path to talk with him in private.

"Well that's certainly the strangest old bat I've ever seen." Said Fili as he stepped warily around the giant rabbits and came to stand with his brother. The rest of the company was dispersing as well. None of them seemed very comfortable around the animals, which made Elle laugh. Only dwarves could not think twice about waging battle with a camp of hungry mountain trolls and still act nervous around giant herbivores.

"What's that he's showing Gandalf?" Kili questioned, trying to get a better look at the two wizards. However, his curiosity was quickly extinguished by a long, low howl in distance. Elle's blood ran cold in an instant, and a quick glance between her friends told her that they recognized that sound as well. Both brothers drew their weapons, and Elle pulled out a throwing axe. It would suit her well enough in a fight.

"Was that a wolf?" Bilbo questioned, noting the sudden change in his friends' demeanor, "Are there- are there wolves out there?"

"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf." Bofur said, voicing the fear of those around him.

Another crash sounded through the trees. Elle whipped around just in time to see a Warg sprinting towards the group down a rocky crag. Thorin was nearest to the beast, and struck it down with a single blow. Another beast burst through the trees, but it too was brought down by an arrow from Kili, and a well-placed blow from Dwalin's hammer.

"Warg Scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind." Thorin exclaimed, re-sheathing his sword.

"Orc pack?" Bilbo was frightened. Elle stood behind her small friend, and gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

Gandalf turned to Thorin in anger, "Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?"

"No one."

"Who did you tell!?"

"No one, I swear! What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted." Gandalf replied, and an anxious murmur went up throughout the group.

"We have to get out of here." Dwalin said.

"We can't! We have no ponies, they bolted." The company groaned. There was no way they could outrun a pack of Wargs.

"I'll draw them off." Radagast offered.

"These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you." Gandalf cautioned his friend, but Radagast only smiled.

"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits! I'd like to see them try."


	11. Flight

And so it was decided that Radagast would lead the pack away from the forest. Once he was out of sight, Gandalf signaled for the group to head in the other direction as quietly as possible. Scampering quickly over fallen tree trucks and moss covered boulders was difficult enough with two arms, and Elle soon found herself falling behind.

"Come on, Elle!" Kili whispered as loud as he could. He stopped at the bottom of a particularly steep incline, and held out his hand to her. Elle used her good arm to grab onto a tree trunk and swing herself down the hill as she might have normally. With her arm wrapped in her sleeve, however, her balance was thrown, and she slipped down to hill into her friend's waiting arms. Kili steadied her quickly, and they moved on, but not before Elle caught Thorin looking at her with concern. Elle squared her shoulders, and kept moving forwards. She was tailing the group, but she would not be a burden.

Bursting through the trees at the edge of the forest, Gandalf led his charges out into the open field. As quickly and quietly as they could, the dwarves sprinted to the nearest rock out cropping and took cover. Once the Wargs were out of sight, Gandalf beckoned for them to continue.

"Move!" Thorin commanded, and everyone left their cover to continue on across the rocky landscape.

Elle was worried. They would not be able to stay hidden for very much longer, and even her keen elven eyes could not see any other sort of cover for miles in any direction. She hoped fervently that Gandalf had some kind of plan.

A few moments later, noticing the pack circling back around in their direction, Thorin ducked behind another outcropping. The other's followed suite, but Ori didn't catch on quick enough.

"Ori, no ! Come back!" Thorin shouted, grabbing the young dwarf by the scruff of his coat. Ori gasped as he was yanked back to safety just in time. He looked quite shaken, and Elle's fears about their fate grew. Not all of them were capable of fighting such foe as these.

"Come on! Quick!" Gandalf commanded once more, and the company continued onwards. Just as she was about to follow, a heavy hand fell on Elle's shoulder. She turned to find Thorin looking at her with unease. "Are you alright? I don't want you-"

"Worry about protecting the others," Elle returned impatiently. Now was not the time to start another strange display of sentiment. "I will be fine." With that, she sprinted after the rest of her companions with Thorin close behind.

"Where are you leading us?" She heard him question Gandalf a few moments later, but there was no reply. Elle's heart sank even further. He must have a plan, he simply must, or else they were all sitting ducks.

As she ran, Elle noticed an Orc stray from the pack. "So it begins." She muttered, and spurred herself on faster. She and the rest of the company reached the next rock cover just in time, for the stray Orc and his mount was almost upon them. Thorin signaled for Kili to eliminate the threating Warg, and he did so with a well-placed arrow, but the beast's rider was not so easily dealt with. His death was noisy, and was quickly answered by a chilling howl as the rest of the pack honed in on the dwarves location.

"Move. Run!" Gandalf shouted, and everyone took off once more. Unfortunately, they had run out of cover. The direction Gandalf had taken them only led to a scattered outcropping of boulders. There was nothing but open plain around them, and the orcs were closing in.

"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin bellowed to his youngest nephew, making sure the dwarf knew he was the group's first line of defense. The company was hemmed in around a small rock formation with no way out. They would have to fight. At that moment, Elle would have given anything to have the use of her arm back. Kili was the only archer accurate enough to make a difference with enemies at this distance, but one dwarf against a pack of Orcs riding Wargs wasn't going to make much of a difference. Readying her throwing axe, Elle watched as their enemies advanced.

"We're surrounded!" Fili called out as the company was forced closer and closer together.

"Where's Gandalf?" His brother shouted. Elle whirled around in surprise, not having realized their greatest asset was gone.

"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin shouted, and Elle could feel her friend's despair.

"He can't have!" She shouted, and Thorin turned back to look at her. There was doubt written on his features, and Elle remembered that he didn't trust the wizard like she did.

"Hold your ground!" Their leader called crouching lower in his stance with his blade outstretched in front of him. Elle swallowed nervously. Without Gandalf they most certainly didn't stand a chance.

"This way, you fools!" A familiar voice called out, and Elle turned around in relief. Gandalf had reappeared behind one of the smaller rocks in the formation behind them.

"Slide down the passage." He told Elle, who was the first to reach him. She did as she was told, and slid feet first down into the dark. The ride was a short one, and she felt her boots hit rock in seconds. Leaning towards her good shoulder, she rolled out of the way to make room for the rest of the group. One by one, nine, ten, and then eleven dwarves all reached the safety of the tunnel, but there was no Thorin. Elle felt her heart skip wildly as she heard a violent growl and then a squeal just outside the mouth of the passage.

"Thorin!" She called out automatically. She needn't have worried, however, for the dark haired dwarf slid down to safety not moments after. Elle felt heat rise to her cheeks as she realized how frantic she must have sounded. The king's eyes found her own for a moment and he nodded in recognition.

Just then, a deep, bellowing horn sounded out across the plains above. There was the swoosh of an arrow, a grunt of pain, and a heavy thud as something quite large came tumbling down towards the tired travelers. Everyone readied for an attack, but the creature was dead. It was an orc, struck down by an arrow shot straight and true. Elle recognized the shaft and feathers almost instantly.

"Elves." Thorin growled, plucking the arrow from its berth. He glanced sideways at Gandalf, but the wizard wasn't concerned with him at that moment. He was looking towards the back of the cave where most of the dwarves were now gathered.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads." Dwalin called from the front of the group. "Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it of course!" Bofur cried, and the company scrambled forwards.

"I think that would be wise." Elle heard Gandalf mutter, and looked at him suspiciously. So, he had a plan after all.

"Where are you taking us?" She asked him quietly once everyone had passed by.

"You will see soon enough." The wizard murmured mysteriously, and Elle rolled her eyes but knew better than to question him further.

"Come on." She heard Thorin's voice command from up ahead. She looked to see him waiting for them at the bend in the path ahead.

"Do you require assistance?" He barked quickly to Elle as she passed by. He looked genuinely troubled, however, and Elle rewarded his concern with a small smile.

"Thank you, my King, but I think I can manage on my own." Not wanting to completely reject him, she added. "However, I will let you know if I require anything in the future."

Satisfied, Thorin nodded to her and turned to lead the way. Elle followed him.

OOOOO

Watching the two move together down the passageway, Gandalf chuckled softly to himself. "Well done, Elle." The wizard muttered with a fond smile. "Well done indeed."


	12. Elves

After an hour or so of endless rocky caverns, the oppressive, looming walls gave way to open air and the soft hushing of water over rocks. Elle, trailing close behind Thorin, was the last to come upon the view.

"Valar…" She breathed. Before her lay the sprawling, flowing, living city of Imladris.

"The Valley of Imladris. In the common Tongue, it's known by another name."

"Rivendell…" Bilbo murmured, his voice thick with wonder.

"Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea."

"This was your plan all along," Thorin cut in angrily, "to seek refuge with our enemy." Elle rolled her eyes. He really could be so thick.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself.

"You think the elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us."

"Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me." Elle tried to cover her snort of laughter will a cough, but Thorin's quick glare told her that her amusement at his expense had not been missed. Not trying as hard as she could have to disguise her grin, she turned and followed the dwarves and one hobbit down the path to meet the elves.

OOOOO

The company's first encounter with the elves of Rivendell was nothing short of eventful. In fact, Elle was quite surprised that everyone came out of it unscathed.

The dwarves were the first to reach at the gates of Rivendell. They had just arrived when a thundering of hooves and elven battle horns sounded out behind them. Thorin immediately called everyone to arms, and the eleven dwarves circled up defensively, weapons drawn. Elle found herself caught in the middle of all this pointless jostling and clamor. By the time the monstrous horses had slowed to a simple trot around the circle of dwarves, Elle was all but fed up with this dwarven distrust, and this time her exasperation wasn't so subtle. She needed a healer, rest, food and a bath; not necessarily in that order, but all as soon as possible.

"Excuse me." She muttered grumpily pushing her way out of the sea of elbows and shoulders and out into the open air. She was just in time to see Elrond break away from the group of soldiers and bring his horse before the company's guide.

"Gandalf!" The Elf Lord sounded pleased to see his friend. As the wizard bowed low, Elrond's eyes turned to the small woman battling her way out from the midst of the dwarven hoard. A small smile spread slowly across his handsome features, and he nodded to her in acknowledgment. Elle nodded in return, and moved to stand off to the side of the company.

"Lord Elrond. Mellonnen! Mo evínedh?" Gandalf greeted.

"Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na Iant Vedui." Elle's Sindarin hadn't been used in many years, but she was familiar with the language enough to know that it was Elrond and his host who had slain their enemies out on the plains. Indeed, her guess was confirmed when Elrond dismounted and showed the company a trophy from their conquest.

"Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near." She heard a nervous murmur from the dwarves behind them. Elle peeked to her right saw that Thorin was obviously struggling with not being involved this conversation. Elle hoped he wouldn't do anything reckless. The elves were tolerant, but they did have their limits.

"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf replied sheepishly. Just as Elle suspected, Thorin stepped forward. Elrond turned his eyes to the dwarf King.

"Welcome, Thorin, son of Thrain." He intoned respectfully.

"I do not believe we have met." Thorin grumbled in reply. Elle recognized his stubborn tone. Did he not see that his company was tired? A day of rest or at least a fresh meal would do them much good, even if it was shared with the elves.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain."

"Indeed; he made no mention of you."

Fortunately for the travelers, Elrond was an elf of the highest caliber, and he shrugged off Thorin's insult with nothing more than a bat of his eyelashes. "Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin."

Elle sighed in relief. Rest. Food.

"What is she saying? Does he offer us insult?" Gloin called out. Elle groaned aloud; apparently, stupidity was catching.

"No." She and Gandalf said together. A look of amused exasperation was shared between the two, and Gandalf continued: "No, master Gloin, he's offering you food."

Elle laughed at the small conference that took place following this statement. She reminded herself it was probably just a truth of the world that dwarves wouldn't be proper dwarves without a healthy amount of suspicion and stubbornness. As quickly as the discussion began, it ended, and Gloin spoke up sheepishly, "Ah, well, in that case, lead on!"


	13. Restless

**Hey guys! Sorry about the delay. Summer grad classes started up, so there's just less time in the day again. I'm really trying to keep this story going though, so keep bugging me and I'll continue to update!**

The rest of the evening progressed in much the same manner as this initial encounter. Every hint of hospitality was scrutinized with more vigor than a dwarf smithy inspecting his metals. Elle only made it through half of the meal, before excusing herself politely, and showing herself out of the dining space. She was tired, dirty, hurting and in no mood for dwarven frivolities at the moment.

As she made her way through the open hallways, Elle's memories of life in Rivendell came flooding back. She recognized several faces, and was engaged in more than one pleasant conversation with old acquaintances. Everyone was pleased to see her, but she could tell they were not as pleased to be housing her companions. She made her excuses for her friends as best she could, but she guessed their behavior while they were here would do nothing to improve relations between the two races. Bridges were never built in a day.

Luckily for Elle, one of the elves she ran into was an old healer she used to know quote well from her days of sparring and games out on the Rivendell lawns. He took her down to the healer's room, and made right of her elbow in no time. Elle was a little more than irritated that Gandalf hadn't bothered to see to it any earlier. The only instruction the old healer gave her was to get a good night's rest, and everything should be right as rain in the morning. Thanking her old friend profusely, and promising to come to him should she need anything else, she excused herself, and made her way to the bathhouse. The warm water on her skin felt like a draught from Valar himself, and she stayed in the steaming pools for several hours. By the time she pried herself out of the water, it had grown dark outside. Making her way to the room Elrond had provided her, Elle put on the tunic and stockings laid out for her and fell into a deep sleep.

Elle slept for what felt like hours, but when she awoke suddenly, the sky outside was still dark. Her heart pounded in anticipation as she strained to figure out what had awoken her. The city was silent, but for the almost imperceptible hush of the falls. Nothing moved in the darkness around her. The stillness was so thick that as Elle stared ahead of her, she could almost imagine what it would be like to lose her sense of sight and sound. Perhaps it was this impenetrable calm that had awoken her. For one so used to the restlessness of the outdoors, it was disturbing to feel the air so serene. Elle was struck with a sudden insatiable restlessness. Something needed to happen. Something was going to happen.

Sliding quietly out of bed, Elle raised her hood over her shorn locks, and slipped out into the dark of the early morning. Remembering an overlook she used to frequent when she lived in Rivendell, Elle decided to make her way there. Perhaps if she was outdoors she could continue to rest.

Upon reaching her destination, Elle was very surprised to find that she was not the only one who had found this secluded terrace. The small bench on the balcony overlooking Imladris already had another occupant. Thorin Oakenshield turned his head slightly as she approached his seat, but did not get up to leave. Elle took this as a good sign, and walked to the edge of the balcony to look out upon the moonlight valley.

"It's beautiful." She said after a moment, sensing her presence was not offensive to the king.

"You may think it is so, but…." He trailed off, still staring out over the valley. Elle understood some of the king's animosity towards the elves, but refused to believe he truly felt it was not breathtaking. .

"May I sit?" She asked, turning around. Thorin slid over to make room on the small bench, and she took the seat next to him. Acutely aware of the heat radiating from his body only inches away, she took a deep breath and tried her best to sit so she wouldn't accidentally touch him. Adjusting her hood to fully hide her anxiety, she looked carefully at the dwarf beside her. His profile was illuminated by the light of the moon, and she could see the hard lines of age and battle etched into his brow. There were other lines there as well, if one looked closely. There were smaller lines branching out from the corners of his eyes and tiny indents in his cheeks carved by years of joy and merrymaking. They reminded Elle that Thorin had indeed been happy once. Seeing him like this – peaceful and deep in thought – reminded her of their better days together. With the sudden kindness he'd been showing her of late, maybe there was a chance he had been thinking on those days as well.

"Many things can be beautiful… despite their origins." Elle offered carefully after many moments of silence, "Just as I find this place beautiful, I am sure I will find the same beauty when we get to your halls at Erebor… despite their origins." She added this last line in an attempt at levity, and, while he didn't laugh, Thorin did turn to look at her. His eyes, Elle noticed, were not filled with their usual hardness; he simply contemplated her with what seemed like curiosity. Finding it harder than usual to pull away from the blue of his gaze, she whispered, "And many things can be good, despite… what you feel you may know about them." With a blush beginning to creep into her cheeks, Elle turned to look out at the valley below her. Her hands searched nervously for her hair, a habit she had developed over the years, but they grasped only at air. Elle sighed, the ache over the loss of her hair coming back as strong as ever.

Thorin, sensing the reason for her change in her mood, reached out as if to take her hand, but moved away at the last moment. The result was a soft brush of fingertips over Elle's skin. The touch sent a tingle up her arm, and she looked at the king warily.

"It does not make you… I mean your hair… You are still quite…" he couldn't seem to bring himself to say the word. With an ironic laugh, Elle turned back towards the night.

"Beautiful? That would be my mother's doing." Elle replied, immediately pulling her guard back up. She couldn't help but think that he was only trying to find some way to remind her of her supposed inferiority. Elle waited for the inevitable hurtful remark about her mother's relatives, but it never came. Instead Thorin simply sighed, stood, and walked over to where she'd been standing a few moments earlier.

"Have you never been inside Erebor?" He asked after many minutes of silence, during which Elle tried to come up with some way to make up for her harsh comment. He turned to look towards her, and Elle looked down feeling rather guilty. She'd misjudged him once again. Why did that suddenly keep happening?

"No, I never had the pleasure." Elle replied, "The city was lost by the time I was born."

Thorin was silent for another few moments, lost in thought. "It is an amazing thing," he said finally, "that the majority of this company has not even seen Erebor, and yet they are following me there to an unknown fate." Elle could hear in his tone the question he would never ask aloud. She spoke her next words carefully.

"You are a great leader, Thorin. I believe… I know these dwarves trust in you and have confidence you will not lead them astray."

"And what about you?" He asked suddenly, coming to stand before her, "Do you trust me?"

Elle wasn't sure how to answer that. "I... I knew how to trust you once, I suppose." she muttered nervously. When Throin didn't say anything, she found herself continuing on, as that one statement wasn't even close to summing up how she felt. "I trust you on many things, but there are some matters… It would be difficult… Although, lately I feel as if I could… I mean in terms of this journey I trust you wholeheartedly, it's just- Oh, I don't know, does it even matter?" She cried in exasperation, and stood up to move past Thorin. Grasping the balcony firmly with two hands, Elle sighed wearily, "Why did you have to ask me that?"

"It is a simple question…"

"You know very well it is not." She was upset and thoroughly confused now, "I cannot believe you would- What would you say if I asked you the same?"

"I would say no."

Elle suddenly found it was hard to catch her breath. She'd expected that to be the answer, but she hadn't expected it to hurt that much after all this time.

Thorin started moving towards her slowly. Gently taking a hold of both her hands, he looked hard into her eyes for a long time, and Elle's confusion grew with every second. "Thorin, I don't think… I don't understand." She tried to pull her hands away, but his grip tightened.

"How could I, Elle?." Thorin said quietly, "How could I trust someone who has done such a thorough job of stealing my heart? I barely even noticed it was gone until you'd already left. It is something…. I will never forgive myself, unless… I know it is a lot to ask, but maybe one day you will forgive me for my foolishness."

Elle could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Thorin…." She tried to continue, but she had no more words to give. They were all tangled behind her tongue, keeping her from saying anything meaningful at all. She wanted cry and yell and say "Yes, of course I will", while also breaking his heart as horribly as he had done to hers, but she couldn't do anything but stare as Thorin's face came nearer to her own. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. For a fleeting moment she thought he was going to kiss her, but his lips moved past hers with inches to spare, and came to land softly on the flesh of her cheek.

"Goodnight, Elle." He murmured before brushing past her, back into the darkness of the pavilion.


	14. Dance

The majority of the next day was a relatively quiet one for the guests of Rivendell. For Elle, most of the day was spent in a long and fitful sleep. After her encounter with Thorin the night before, she had stayed up for nearly another hour before finally making her way back to bed. She had come to no conclusions about the reason for Thorin's strange change in behavior, but she had decided that perhaps there wasn't really a logical explanation at all. After all, hadn't her own heart been betraying her these last few days? She herself no longer knew quite what to think about the dwarf, even after all her years of denying him any place in her thoughts. Perhaps it was possible he had also had a change of heart, and maybe that was all there would ever be to it. That was enough, wasn't it?

OOOOO

The sun was halfway through its decent over the valley when Elle finally awoke to a clamor outside her door. Still groggy with sleep, Elle pulled on her grey tunic and leggings along with her boots, and got up to go see what all the fuss was about. As she reached the door, she almost moved to take hold of her hood, but Thorin's words from the night before came back to her, and she decided to leave it on its hook. Opening her door, she was greeted by, what looked to be the entire company of dwarves milling about outside her room. It appeared as if there had been an argument about who was going to knock.

"Good afternoon, m'lady! We were just comin' to fetch ye for supper." Bofur said quickly, bowing with a flourish of his hat. The other dwarves did likewise in odd little bobbing movements, and Elle laughed merrily, giving them a bow of her own. Dwalin, of course, had not bowed, but Elle gave him a quiet smile and nod of recognition, and he nodded back. They seemed to be making progress, which brightened Elle's spirits even more.

"I seem to have slept the day away!" She exclaimed as the group made their way to the large hall.

"Ay, we all did!" Kili said as he walked beside her, "All except Bombur here. He would never miss a breakfast!"

The dwarves laughed, as Bombur acknowledge that he had indeed been woken up by an empty stomach.

"Where's Thorin?" Elle asked Kili once they'd entered the hall, and she noticed he was still nowhere to be found.

"No idea. I think he met with Elrond and Gandalf last night. Rumor is we're stuck here 'til the crescent moon tomorrow night."

"Another day…" Elle murmured, taking her place at the table that had been set up for the dwarves. Two days was a long pause in their journey, but they would need the extra rest. Maybe she'd even get a chance to practice with her weapons in the garden. Elle had always liked the gardens at Rivendell.

The dwarves were much happier with the choice of food tonight. There were vegetables – "green food" as Oin called it – but there were also giant helpings of mutton and sausage as well. The elves had even managed to find something resembling a potato. Elle happily filled her plate with a little bit of everything, and began the welcome task of eating to her hearts content.

About halfway through the meal, Elle saw Thorin enter the hall, but he went up to sit at the Table with Elrond and Gandalf. His back was to her, so she couldn't see his face, but his posture suggested a much more relaxed Thorin than the one that began their journey. Perhaps sleep had even been able to work its magic on Thorin as well.

Distracted by the King's presence, Elle became so lost in thought that she barely caught any of the conversation around her. She couldn't stop replaying their conversation on the balcony. His confession was slowly uncovering something, some feeling inside her chest she'd thought long forgotten. Was it love? Could she really love him again without any hesitation? She knew the answer she wanted to give, but the hardened, cynical part of her wasn't done fighting quite yet. Her mind could find no peace.

Elle's tumultuous meditation was finally interrupted by the satisfied belches of the company around her.

"Ye comin' to our party, Miss Elle?" Bofur asked merrily as all the dwarves stood up and began filing off down the corridors outside the dining area.

"Party?" Elle questioned in confusion as she was pulled to her feet by Kili and Fili. She barely had time to grab her goblet of wine, before she was whisked away by the two mischievous dwarves.

"Yea, we planned it during supper, weren't you listening? Kili asked with a laugh as he and his brother escorted their confused friend down into a candlelit hallway. Somehow the sun had disappeared, something else Elle had failed to noticed.

"Of course she wasn't, Kili." Fili said grinning devilishly, "You saw the look on her face. Staring wistfully off into the distance..."

"More like into uncles' back- Ouch!" Kili was silenced with a well-placed elbow, and Elle turned to glare at him.

"I was not staring!"

"Oh, really? What is it you call this then?" Fili asked, and his face slackened into a look of dreamy desire that Elle really hoped was just an exaggeration.

"Knock it off." She grumbled, giving Fili her other elbow. With a huff, she turned her back on the snickering brothers, and continued off down the hallway. She heard the soft smack of leather on leather, and knew they'd high-fived. Clenching her fists in frustration, she gritted her teeth and refused to be provoked by their jokes. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself with a long swig of wine. Hopefully no one else had taken note of her behavior, or else this was going to be one hell of a long party.

OOOOO

In her fuzzy state, Elle watched a thoroughly drunk Fili try to stand. In his attempt, however, he fell over into Bofur, who tipped over onto Kili, who landed on top of Bilbo, who was trapped underneath his howling friends for several minutes before they could compose themselves enough to sit upright again.

"Music!" Dwalin bellowed out. The cry was taken up by the other intoxicated dwarves, and flutes, violin's, along with several other types of instruments were produced. Once everyone was settled, Balin began to thump out a lively rhythm on a tiny drum. One by one, the other musicians joined in with him. Pretty soon the fiddles had picked out an animated melody, and the rest of the company began to holler and clap in time with the beat. Fili attempted to stand again, and this time he was successful. With a gleeful shout he was on his feet and clearing the others out of the way to make space for dancing. Taking his place in the middle of the floor, he motioned to his brother, who came up to join him. Amid hoots and catcalls, the two dwarves began to stomp their feet in time with their clapping hands. Elle saw a look pass between the two brothers, and as the melody started anew, they broke out into the kind of jig one would only find at the rowdiest of dwarven celebrations. Elle clapped and sang along with the others as the young dwarves put on a show for the rest of the company. Dwalin found their antics so hilarious that he pounded his tankard onto the ground until it shattered into pieces. This cued another chorus of howling laughter, and Elle doubled over, clutching her sides.

"Elle!" She heard her named called, and looked up to see Fili motioning for her to join them. Never one to turn down a chance to dance, Elle hopped to her feet and spun out onto the floor. Fili held out his hand to her first, and Elle took it lightly. The dwarf lifted his hand and spun Elle across the floor to where his brother's hand was waiting to catch her. Wrapping his arm around her waist, Kili took hold of Elle, and the two of them skipped around the dance floor to raucous cheers. Suddenly, and with a mischievous laugh, Kili pushed Elle away from him, flicked his wrist, and sent her spinning out into the middle of the floor. The company applauded in delight as Elle spun faster and faster. Soon her feet were leading her across the floor in a dance that might have been something she'd learned many years ago, or it might have been something she'd just made up. Elle was too caught up to care, and so was her audience. In the light of the crescent moon she looked every bit the elven maiden, and she was beautiful. Every dwarf present thought so, as well as the dwarf looking down at the scene from the balcony above.


	15. Finally

With her head still buzzing from the combination of ale, music, and dancing, Elle skipped lightly back to her room, humming to herself. Reaching her destination, she shoved open her door, twirled into her room and flopped not-so-gracefully onto her bed. As she lay sprawled across her sheets, Elle basked in her glorious happiness. Never in all her years had she had that much fun. This mismatched set of dwarves had certainly made quite an impression on her so far, and she was ever so excited to continue having adventures with them all…

A harsh knocking sound woke Elle from her drowsy daydreams, and she shot up out of bed, immediately on her guard.

"Thorin!" She breathed in relief as she saw who was standing in her already open doorway, "Durin, you frightened me. I'd-" Elle tried to find her words as Thorin just stared at her in a way that was slightly unnerving, "I'd forgotten to… close my door." She finished lamely, not really knowing why she'd kept speaking. There was a long awkward silence as Thorin stood unmoving. Gods he was handsome. His long hair fell in beautiful waves across his wide shoulders. Her eyes followed naturally down his tapered frame to his trim waist and hips. Realizing where she was staring, Elle coughed in embarrassment, and flicked her eyes down to the wood panels of the floor. "Would you like to come in?" She said quickly, finally remembering her manners. She jumped towards her untidy packs, and attempted to hide them from view by shoving them under the bed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting a guest."

In her flustered state, Elle missed the quiet footsteps across her bedroom floor as Thorin entered the room. Suddenly, his hand grasped her arm and gently urged her to turn around. Elle's heart pounded and, without quite realizing what she was doing, she reached out and placed a hand upon his heart. His pulse was beating just as wildly as her own. She couldn't help herself.

"Elle..." was all Thorin got out before she leaned in and placed a chaste, but urgent kiss on his lips. She inhaled sharply through her nose, and her eyelids fell closed in delight and shock at her own boldness. Thorin pulled away after a moment, but he stayed near her. She could feel the soft tickle of his breath across her cheek. "Elle…" He whispered again, and her eyes fluttered open reluctantly. His gaze was on her face, and he was pleading with her to understand; begging her to spare him the task of explaining. Elle almost considered making him find the words she'd been dreaming of hearing for the last twenty years, but the memory of his lips on hers was too fresh and too tempting to delay any longer. With a frustrated groan Elle wove her fingers into his hair, and pulled his head back down, demanding he kiss her again.

And kiss her he did. With his hands and lips Thorin devoured every inch of Elle he could reach. It was all she could do to hold on. One moment his searching mouth was on hers, the next on the tender spot behind her ear. At one point her head was pulled back roughly to expose the soft flesh of her neck and she groaned with pleasure. Once Thorin had ravished every patch of exposed skin, his hands began fumbling with the belt on her tunic. Piece by piece, her clothing was carefully stripped from her until she stood before him completely naked. Elle had barely registered this process as it was happening, but once it had finished she immediately felt her face go red, and looked down at the floor once more. This wasn't the first time she'd been naked in front of a man, but it was the most vulnerable she'd ever been with Thorin, and he would always be the most important man. The ghosts of every flaw she'd ever found in herself came rushing at her all at once, and she feared he had found them all as well.

Thorin was watching the blush creep into her cheeks with interest. His eyes roamed her body once in heated lust, but they ultimately came up to rest on her face. Taking her face in his hands like a precious gem, he wordlessly commanded her to look at him. She did, and in her eyes Thorin saw hope. There was confusion and pain there as well, however, and he used his thumb to carefully wipe away the trail of a small tear that had leaked from one of her incredible green eyes. Mustering up all the courage he could, Thorin tried to find words to describe all the feelings bubbling inside him.

"I love you, Elle." He started quietly, but his voice was firm. Elle didn't try to say anything, but more tears began to fall. "I know there are many things you deserve to hear regarding… my actions, and I… I will do my best to try and explain them to you as best I can, but…" He looked up trying to make sense of what he felt, "I was so wrong before, but after all that time… and seeing you… I didn't know… but I understand now that you… that you and I…" He sighed frustratedly, "I want you Elle. More than I have wanted anything in all my life. I… I know my actions have spoken otherwise, and I have no right to come to you like this, but I couldn't stand being parted from you one minute longer. I… I need you…" His voice had dropped to a whispering plea at this point, and Elle saw in his eyes that he was telling her the truth. Of course he owed her an explanation, but she agreed that could wait. She had dreamed of this moment for years, and she wasn't about to let it slip away. Lowering her gaze, her hands fell to his belt. Slowly, Elle undid the large buckle, and it fell away, releasing the folds of Thorin's deep blue tunic.

"I know it doesn't make sense. I don't think love ever does. But, as much as I have tried to change my heart, you have always had me…" She looked up and Thorin looked back at her, beginning to smile hesitantly. Elle couldn't help but to smile in return, and soon they were beaming at each other, lost in their sudden, unbridled joy. Elle's eyes closed again as Thorin bent to kiss her, and this time she kissed him back with the same uninhibited desire he had shown to her earlier. With a groan of happiness, Thorin lifted her into his arms and laid her down gently onto the bed. Propping herself up on one elbow, Elle watched as Thorin lifted his tunic up over his head, exposing his broad chest to her inspection. If she was to be completely honest, this version of Thorin was even better than the one she'd imagined in her wildest of dreams. Age had treated Thorin very kindly indeed. His shoulders and chest were expansive, and the soft black hair sprinkled across them was just enough to further define the hard lines of muscle gained from years of toilsome labor. Catching her watching him, Thorin grunted and suddenly seemed very intent on undoing the laces of his britches.

"Come here." Elle murmured watching the tiniest of flushes beginning to spread underneath Thorin's thick beard. Obeying, Thorin came and knelt in front of her on the soft mattress. Sitting back on his heels, he let her deal with the troublesome knots. She had them undone in no time, and looked up to find him observing her. There was a battle taking place behind his hooded gaze. Elle could tell he was restraining himself for her sake, waiting for her to set the tone of their coupling. But that wasn't what Elle wanted; she wanted fiery passionate Thorin, and she wanted him now. She could practically feel the heat radiating out of his gaze, and it was driving her crazy that he hadn't ravished her yet. Leaning forwards, she brushed a strand of peppery hair away from his cheek, and whispered into his ear:

"Take me."

That was all the Thorin needed to hear. With a ravenous growl, he was upon her.

OOOOO

Thorin liked control. He had always lived in a world where people listened to him and everything was done the way he wanted it. His body and his mind were his own to govern, and they served him faithfully. However, all that changed the day Elle came into his life. The first time he'd felt his control slipping was the day he'd walked into the dark of Elle's forge for the first time, his feet operating of their own free will. The second time this had happened was just a few minutes earlier when he'd found himself following Elle back to her room. He'd come to Elle to see if she would be willing to consider forgiving him for what he'd done, but when he had taken her arm, and she turned to look at him, he'd barely had a chance to consider his actions before her lips were on his. This… welcome turn of events led to the third instance in which Thorin had completely lost control. Suddenly, he was all over Elle and she was beneath him, responding to his touch in ways that only fueled his desire for her. Tensions built up from ninety years of frustration and unsatisfactory pleasures were boiling and bubbling to the surface, and soon they were demanding to be set free. Elle had already found her pleasure, and he eyes were shut tight in ecstasy. As he came, Thorin gazed in rapture at the vision of beauty below him. Rolling to the side, he felt a pang of guilt for not trying harder to restrain himself, but as she curled up closely into his side, the guilt became only a fleeting thought. After all, he hadn't been able to help it; besides, it was her own fault. Damn her for being so incredibly irresistible. With a heavy sigh of satisfaction, Thorin enveloped Elle and pulled her close. She was perfect, and she was finally his.


	16. Promise

An hour or so after Thorin had entered her room so unexpectedly, Elle's fingers traced languid spirals across the king's abdomen; her eyes closed in tired contentment. A smile spread across her face as Thorin ran his fingers through her hair in a continuous, comforting motion. Despite the doubts and frustration she'd felt towards Thorin over the many years they'd been apart, Elle knew that things between them were finally the way they were meant to be. She had never felt more perfectly at home than she did in that moment. Yes, their relationship had developed in a way Elle could not have predicted, and no, they hadn't talked about anything that had happened yet, but as far as Elle was concerned, she could care less about past discretions. Behind the darkness of her eyelids, she imagined all her fears and doubts floating lazily out the window and up, up, up, until they were lost among the countless twinkling stars. She had almost fallen completely into this unspoiled dream, when reality struck in the form of Thorin's soft lips upon her brow.

"Elle…" he murmured gently nudging her awake.

"Mmmm…" Elle grumbled in reply, but did her best to blink herself back to life. As little as she wanted anything to risk damaging the perfection of this moment – and many moments to come, hopefully – she knew a good long discussion was in order. There was a lot that needed to be said.

"I would like nothing more to just forget everything ever happened and go on together like this." Thorin said, propping himself up on his elbow as she sat up and stretched, "Only, I think it would be best to hear each other out. I would never want you to worry that us lying together was just… that it didn't mean…" the dwarf searched for the right words, but Elle knew exactly what he meant.

"I understand," she said settling down beside where he lay propped up on his elbow, "There are many things I wish to know. I doubt they will change the way I feel – Valar knows I've probably thought up explanations worse than the truth over the years – but I don't want anything to come between… anything that might come of this." She stopped, and then all her words began tumbling out at once, "I… There's so much I wish I could have told you, but you just… I didn't know… Thorin, I never meant to hide anything from you-"she was interrupted by Thorin's calming hand on her knee, "My apologies, I will do my best not to ramble."

Thorin chuckled softly, "Ramble as much as you like. I wish to know everything. Only how about you start at the beginning…"

After a moment's pause to collect her thoughts, Elle began her story. She told Thorin all about her life, from the very beginning. She told him again about her parents, and how their love for one another had given her the brightest of childhoods. She told him about the rangers and Gandalf and the raid that had come to kill her parents. She talked about her life as a nomad, and how at first she'd loved being free and on her own, but how, after only a little more than a year, she'd began to long for a true home again. Finally, she came to the part in her story involving her life in the Blue Mountains, and she began to feel tears welling up behind her eyes as she told him about meeting his nephews for the first time. She tried her best to express the strength and conviction of the feelings she'd developed for Thorin in the few months they'd gotten to know each other, but words just couldn't do her adoration justice. As her voice faltered, Thorin reached over and took her hand. He didn't say anything, but Elle knew he understood.

The end of Elle's story was fairly short. After leaving the Blue Mountains she'd continued to live a life on the road. She'd visited her kin at Rivendell several times, but never for very long.

"It just never felt like home….." She finished, and looked to her beloved. There was a long silence before Thorin said anything at all, but when he did it was with a voice as earnest as any Elle had ever heard.

"You already know most of my life, and there is very little of my life after you were gone that meant anything worthwhile. I spent many years trying to forget you," Thorin chuckled softly, and looked up at Elle with warm eyes, "something that was much harder than expected, I must admit." Elle laughed.

"You're not that easy to forget either, Thorin Oakenshield." She said softly. Thorin pushed himself upright to sit in front of her before continuing with his story.

"All I managed to accomplish during that time was alienating my heart against you. When I saw you that night… I hadn't known it was possible to be both furious and joyful at the same time, but that was how I felt when you appeared in my life again. I was always taught to remain firm and never give-in once a decision has been made, and it took until that night with the trolls to realize again how important you are to me." Thorin's brows creased, and he fell silent for a moment. Just as Elle was about to ask him if everything was alright, Thorin leaned back, swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and strode over to where his clothes lay in a pile on the floor. Elle couldn't see what he was doing, but just as quickly as he'd knelt down, Thorin stood up, walked back to her, and climbed onto the bed once more. Sitting in front of her, Thorin took her hand and pressed something tiny into her palm.

"I would have liked to do this properly," Thorin said nervously as Elle's mouth gaped open in shock, "but this should have been yours many years ago."

Elle looked at the glimmering ring, and couldn't help but laugh. "Thorin, is this… what does this mean?"

Thorin chuckled, and took the other edge of her sheet and pulled it over his lap. "Never in a thousand ages would I have imagined I would be wearing naught but my skin when I finally pledged myself to a woman." He said, and Elle giggled as she tucked the cloth up underneath her armpits in her own attempt to add some kind of formality to the situation.

"I have never met anyone like you, Elle." Thorin said with a smile, "You truly deserve this quest more than anyone else. I cannot imagine living on my own for so long, without any companions for company. I am truly sorry for ever taking that away from you. There was a time when my heart told me I should never leave your side, and I was a fool not to listen to it. If I can promise you anything, Elle, it is that from this moment onwards, you will always have a companion in me."

Elle laughed incredulously. "And of course I will accept your promise." Thorin's happiness was evident as he kissed Elle passionately. Drawing their bodies together once more, he slowly laid them both back down into the soft pillows in a tight embrace.

"I must warn you," Thorin broke their kiss softly, and carefully took the ring from Elle's hand, "I am not easy to love."

"Nor am I easily discouraged." Replied Elle as the ring was slipped over her finger. It fit perfectly. "You will find you cannot scare me away as easily as you might like, Thorin Oakenshield."

"Nor should I ever want to. But please," Thorin looked into her eyes as if making sure what he'd seen there was true, "remember when I tell you that I love you. It is likely that I will forget to tell you as often as you deserve. Remind me if I fail you in this regard."

Elle grinned, and her eyes closed in tired contentment. "Of that you can be sure I will."


	17. Rapture

Elle was awoken gently the next morning by the warm light of the sun, and the gentle movement of the mattress. Turning over towards her bedmate, she was greeted by a pair of broad, flexing shoulders as the King sat on the edge of the bed and stretched his stiff muscles. Not realizing Elle had awoken, Thorin slid carefully off the bed and began searching for his discarded clothes. Elle took a moment to relish in the even more exquisite view of her lover's lower extremities, before propping herself up on an elbow and making her presence known with a mumbled greeting.

"G'morning, love."

Thorin turned to her and smiled, "Good morning, Mizimel." The King's voice had an early morning gruffness to it that caused a stirring in Elle's chest as the Khuzdul endearment rolled lazily off his tongue. A heat rose to her face that did not go unnoticed. Thorin grinned mischeviously before resuming his search of Elle's chambers.

"Must you go so soon?" Elle said, trying not to sound too disappointed. He picked up his trousers, fed both legs in and laced them up before coming to sit on the bed next to Elle. He bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. The bristles of his beard sent a tingle down Elle's spine as they brushed over her skin.

"I'm afraid I must, Kurdel. I am meeting with The Wizard this morning to discuss our departure. It is nothing you must worry about, but it is very likely we will be leaving this very night after Lord Elrond deciphers the map. I know the elves will disprove of our quest, and I don't want to meet any resistance. I know you feel differently about these people, but I won't risk confrontation."

Elle nodded in understanding. It was true she still felt Thorin was being a little overly distrustful, but she also knew the elves took these matters very seriously. If they were to decide against the quest, it would take considerable effort to persuade them otherwise.

"In fact," Thorin said standing and continuing to dress, "Tell the others of this plan, and make sure they pack." Elle's eyebrow raised in mock-indignation at his commanding tone, "If you wouldn't mind, of course." Thorin added quickly, obviously not having meant to sound so demanding. Elle chuckled quietly, and rewarded him with a playful smile. "My apologies, my lady." Thorin returned her smile, and came again to the bed. This time Elle grabbed hold of him and pulled him down on top of her.

"Anything you wish, my King." She whispered softly, and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Thorin rumbled happily, and moved so he was hovering over her on his hands. His hair fell down around his shoulders, framing their faces in a tunnel of grey and black waves. One of Thorin's braids dangled enticingly over Elle's mouth. She snapped at it impishly, catching and holding the metal bead lightly between her teeth. Noticing Thorin's gaze lingering on her lips, she drew the bead in further and sucked, gently tugging at the length of hair. Thorin rumbled again, and pulled the bead away only to replace it with his tongue. Elle sucked and pulled at the King's lips hungrily until he was pressing down eagerly into her hips. She could feel his arousal, and she growled back in pleasure, lifting her hips up to meet his.

With a frustrated groan, Thorin pulled himself upwards. Panting, he looked down at Elle with lust filled eyes. With her hair spilled out around her head in a small brown halo of curls, and her eyes glassy with desire, she looked to him like perfection. He couldn't say no.

Pulling his trousers down around his thighs, Thorin yanked back the sheet covering Elle's glowing flesh and flung it off the bed. Elle whimpered in expectation and let her hands glide up and under the King's tunic as he entered her for a second time. The sudden sensation was overpowering, and Elle called out in surprised pleasure. Thorin took this as encouragement, and took hold of her wrists, pulling them up and over her head, holding them there with his considerable weight. Elle moaned with excitement. Never had she experienced passion such as this. There was something incredibly erotic about the way Thorin looked as he moved above her, half dressed with his pants around his legs, pumping in blind lust. Elle cried out in considerable frustration as she began pushing up at his hips, wrapping her legs around his thighs, doing anything she could to push him further into her.

"Thorin…" She groaned closing her eyes, "Please, Thorin…"

The King growled and began to move faster. He murmured something low in his native tongue, and Elle gasped at the waves of heat the sensual sound sent rippling to her core.

"Thorin!" She cried, her back arching as she came closer to her peak.

"Come," He rumbled bending to whisper in her ear, "Come for me, Âzyungel."

Elle felt herself clenching one last time, and then the waves of orgasm hit her harder than anything she'd felt before. She gasped and cried out as her body pulsed with spasms around Thorin's thrusts, and she heard a gruff curse and a strangled groan as her King found his pleasure as well.

OOOOO

When Elle awoke next, Thorin was gone. Turning over onto her stomach with a groan, she stretched her limbs out to the far corners of the bed and pressed her face into the pillows, trying to catch every last scent, every last memory of where her King had lain, just the night before. There was nothing she had experienced yet in her many years that compared to this perfect feeling of loving and being loved in return. She was never going to move. She would lie like this, basking in the glory of her full heart until Thorin came back and they could resume their love, uninterrupted by elves, quests, or dragons…

Unfortunately, her contented reverie was interrupted by three loud raps on her door. Groaning, Elle forced herself up and out of bed.

"Just a moment!" She called, as the knocking started up again, this time more insistent. Pulling her tunic and leggings on as quickly as she could, she hurriedly tried to tame her wild curls. All she could come up with was a simple, short plait, fastened at the end by Fili's clasp.

"I'm coming, I'm coming…" She grumbled pulling the door open just as her visitor started knocking again. "Nori! What on earth- Oh, hello Dori. And Ori!" Elle was pushed aside as all three dwarves pushed their way into her rooms, shoving the door closed behind them.

"We've come with a secret message!" Ori whispered excitedly, his nerves getting the best of him.

"From King Thorin himself!" Dori added importantly.

"He ordered us to tell everyone right away!" Nori finished, puffing his chest out with pride.

Elle had a feeling she knew what this news was going to be, but she would never have dreamed of putting a damper on her three friend's enthusiasm.

"What is it?" She asked expectantly.

"We are leaving!" Ori whispered, and glanced around him as if to make sure they were truly alone.

"Tonight!"

"Under the cover of moonlight! The elves must not find out!"

"We are sneaking off?" Elle questioned, moving to pull her packs out from under her bed.

"Aye, like bandits." Dori whispered.

"Do you need help packing, miss Elle?" Nori asked politely.

Elle laughed, "No I think I'm alright. You best go tell the others!"

"We will!"

Elle smiled as she watched the three dwarves poke their heads carefully out into the hallway before sneaking off to report their message elsewhere. She was glad Thorin had appointed them with this special task. As a leader, he understood it was important that everyone feel they contributed to the group, and she knew this special task would not go unappreciated by the three brothers.

As the last of her daydreams of uninhibited passion drifted up and out the window into the afternoon sky, Elle finished getting dressed and ready for the journey ahead.


End file.
